New York Gov. Kathy Hochul landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday as she began a 30-hour trip to Israel amid the war with Hamas that she described as a “solidarity mission.”
The 65-year-old Democrat began her stay with a security briefing at the airport, pausing to speak with Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the United States. according to pool reporter Luis Ferré-Sadurní from the New York Times.
Herzog told him that aid deliveries to the Palestinians had been approved, but warned: “If [Hamas] interferes, so we stop,” the report says.
Hochul then traveled in an armored van to a kibbutz in Shefayim and toured a hotel that had been converted into a shelter to meet with Israeli families displaced by the Hamas attacks on October 7, Ferré-Sadurní said.
Avihai Brodutch, 42, told the governor that his wife and three young children were among the around 200 hostages in Gaza custody, and he told Hochul that rescuing them should be the top priority of the United States and Israel.
“The first thing to do is bring them back,” he said. “My wife and children should not be part of this conflict.”
“I haven’t suffered any losses yet. I still have hope, but I need help from people like you.”
Hochul told the man: “Your pain becomes our pain. We will make sure to speak up.”
Doron Admoni, 67, said he was visiting family in the United States when his wife texted him that she and one of their children were being attacked in Kafar Azza.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday. Kathy Hochul/X
They were found dead in each other’s arms, she said, while Hochul briefly caressed her arm, the report said.
Renana Botzer Swissa, 13, told Hochul that she had just attended the funeral of her friend’s father, who was killed while trying to protect people from terrorists.
“I saw my friend, who is always smiling, collapse and there was nothing I could do to help her,” the teen said.
Follow The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel.
The governor told reporters Tuesday that she was heading to the Middle East on “a mission of solidarity… and also a mission of support,” and said her trip will protect the safety of all Jewish and Palestinian New Yorkers.
New York’s nearly 2 million Jews constitute a much larger electorate than any other U.S. state, and there are more Jews in New York City than in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem combined.
Although Air Force One was spotted at Ben Gurion Airport when Hochul landed, she and Democratic President Biden traveled separately.
People watch as President Biden’s motorcade passes toward the airport after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. AP Hochul and fellow Democrat President Biden traveled separately.AP
Shortly thereafter, Biden left the region, after postponing a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahomoud Abbas in the wake of an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn