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New York Governor Kathy Hochul<\/strong> apologized<\/a> Friday for feedback she made suggesting that Israel is justified in destroying Gaza in retaliation for Hamas\u2019 October 7 assault.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I\u2019m sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day,\u201d Hochul mentioned in remarks that circulated broadly on social media. \u201cThat is a natural reaction. You have a right to defend yourself and to make sure that it never happens again. And that is Israel\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor regretted her \u201cpoor choice of words\u201d and the \u201cinappropriate analogy\u201d in a press release to the New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I have been clear in my support of Israel\u2019s right to self-defense,\u201d Hochul added, \u201cI have also repeatedly said and continue to believe that Palestinian civilian casualties should be avoided and that more humanitarian aid must go to the people of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n Since Hamas\u2019 assault, which resulted within the loss of life of 1,200 Israelis, most of whom had been civilians, Israeli\u2019s retaliatory assault has killed<\/a> over 28,000 Palestinians in Gaza and generated a spiraling humanitarian disaster.<\/p>\n Hochul\u2019s remark got here at a Thursday occasion hosted by the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, a nonprofit and chapter of the Jewish Federations of North America. The group steadily sends American politicians to Israel and not too long ago sponsored<\/a> a visit for New York City Mayor Eric Adams<\/strong> in August.<\/p>\n The nonprofit reportedly supplied to pay for Hochul\u2019s two-day \u201csolidarity trip\u201d to Israel in mid-October, which coincided with President Joe Biden<\/strong>\u2019s first journey to the nation following the Hamas assault. But Hochul\u2019s workplace, citing a delay in an ethics overview of the funding, mentioned later<\/a> that New York taxpayers would as an alternative foot the $12,000 invoice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know about being attacked by terrorist organizations here in New York City,\u201d Hochul mentioned<\/a> after the journey. \u201cI felt this overwhelming need to go there and say, you know, on behalf of New Yorkers \u2014 particularly the very large Jewish community we have in New York \u2014 that I wanted to go there to show our support, meet with people who have endured the unspeakable.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul\u2019s feedback come because the battle continues to rage in Gaza, with Israel gearing up for a possible floor invasion of Rafah, a metropolis close to the Egyptian border that at present homes 1.4 million displaced Palestinians<\/a> who’ve fled from different components of the territory.<\/p>\n