Chuck Darwin<p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom said today he supports President Biden’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza, citing the “ongoing and horrific loss of innocent civilian life.”</p><p>“I support President Biden’s call for an <a href="https://c.im/tags/immediate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>immediate</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/ceasefire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ceasefire</span></a> as part of a deal to secure desperately needed relief for <a href="https://c.im/tags/Gazan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Gazan</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/civilians" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>civilians</span></a> and the release of <a href="https://c.im/tags/hostages" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>hostages</span></a>,” he wrote in a letter addressed to California’s <a href="https://c.im/tags/Muslim" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Muslim</span></a>, <a href="https://c.im/tags/Palestinian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Palestinian</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/American" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>American</span></a>, and <a href="https://c.im/tags/Arab" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Arab</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/American" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>American</span></a> communities. </p><p>“I also unequivocally <a href="https://c.im/tags/denounce" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>denounce</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Hamas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Hamas</span></a>’s terrorist attack against Israel. It is time to work in earnest toward an <a href="https://c.im/tags/enduring" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>enduring</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/peace" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>peace</span></a> that will furnish the lasting security, autonomy, and freedom that the Palestinians and the Israeli people both deserve.”</p><p>Newsom’s statement comes one day before the U.S. plans to ask the U.N. Security Council to back a ceasefire resolution, and follows other leaders shifting to more forceful calls for <a href="https://c.im/tags/Israel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Israel</span></a> to change its conduct of the war.</p><p>On March 3, Vice President <a href="https://c.im/tags/Kamala" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Kamala</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Harris" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Harris</span></a>, the former U.S. senator from California, called for an immediate, but temporary ceasefire — the strongest statement from the Biden administration to that point.</p><p>Following his State of the Union address on March 7, when he announced a new effort to bring in humanitarian aid by sea, <a href="https://c.im/tags/President" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>President</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Biden" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Biden</span></a> called for a six-week ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner exchange. </p><p>And in a call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, the president expressed concerns about the civilian death toll and Israel’s blockade of aid delivery, according to a White House summary <br><a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/03/22/gavin-newsom-calls-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">mercurynews.com/2024/03/22/gav</span><span class="invisible">in-newsom-calls-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/</span></a></p>