California Governor Gavin Newsom described Monday that he was shown gruesome images of Hamas victims during his visit to Israel. He said there were also people who had been beheaded and that the experience had brought him closer to understanding the horrors inflicted on the Israeli people. “It goes along with understanding the emotions of Israelis about the atrocities that took place and the 1,400 lives lost. It’s no longer intellectual.’
Newsome spoke to reporters in Hong Kong after spending Friday in Israel. During his 10-hour visit to Tel Aviv, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and survivors of the October 7 attacks that killed 1,400 people.
The war is entering its third week, with Israel continuing to bomb the Gaza Strip as it prepares for an expected land invasion. The US is reportedly pushing for a delay so it can boost its troop deployments in the region, warning that Iran and its allies are using an invasion to justify an expansion of the war.
Newsom also described meeting a young California woman shot in the Hamas attack and a mother whose son was wounded and kidnapped. “I listened to the sadness and fear in a mother’s voice as she spoke about her son – a Californian currently held hostage in Gaza – whose arm was blown off by a terrorist’s grenade,” he said.
“I hugged a girl – another Californian, born in Los Angeles – who was shot in the leg by Hamas and left for dead, under truly horrific circumstances. “I grieved with families in mourning, I met young soldiers fresh out of bomb shelters and battlefields, and I sat with leaders who bear the responsibility of responding to all of this.” Despite the horror, he said he was struck by a sense of resilience. “That is the Israeli spirit,” he said.
He also told reporters that he was working to see if his office could help rescue California man, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. But he said he could not meet Palestinians or travel to Gaza, although he tried to get California to send aid to the enclave.
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