Cuomo joins growing Democratic chorus urging end to Gaza war

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo on Sept. 09. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh September 15, 2025

Andrew Cuomo called for an immediate end to the Gaza war as reports surfaced of Israel beginning its offensive in Gaza City, a marked shift for the mayoral hopeful who has refrained until now from sharp disagreements with the Netanyahu government.

“It should end today,” the former governor said Monday in an interview with The New York Times, calling the war “horrific.”

“There is no doubt that the people of New York and the nation see the continued carnage that is happening and are deeply, deeply disturbed and want it over, and believe it has gone on way too long,” he said.

The Times reported that Cuomo did not elaborate on what terms he believed the war should end beyond a return of all the hostages Hamas captured when it launched the war on Oct. 7, 2023 with massacres inside Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s terms have been the complete defeat of Hamas and its removal from Gaza. Israel on Monday launched an intensive assault on Gaza City in a bid to bring an end to the war. Israeli opposition leaders have said the assault puts the lives of the remaining living hostages at risk.

Cuomo’s call aligns him with a growing number of mainstream Democrats, including Jewish governors and potential presidential contenders Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois.

It marks a notable shift from the stance that Cuomo took during the Democratic primary for mayor. Last year, Cuomo launched a pro-Israel group that he said would focus on debunking “lies and deception” about the war in Gaza. (The group never aired the ads or promoted the initiatives it had promised.) He has also publicly defended Netanyahu against the International Criminal Court’s claims of war crimes. He has not until now called for a ceasefire.

A spokesperson for Cuomo did not immediately respond to a request to explain the shift.

Cuomo has over recent weeks signaled a shift on Israel’s war in Gaza. In July, following his primary loss to Zohran Mamdani, a strident Israel critic, Cuomo said that “everyone who has any sense of decency” wants the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to “stop immediately.” Last month, he told Bloomberg News that he doesn’t support Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas. Cuomo , having lost the Democratic primary, is running as an independent.

Later Monday, speaking to reporters, Cuomo insisted his comments did not represent a change.

“ The situation is horrific. The carnage is horrific. I pray for peace. I pray for an end to the violence,” he said. “I pray for the hostages to be returned and Hamas has to be eliminated. But the carnage is horrific. So I haven’t changed my position at all. I support Israel, and nothing has changed.”

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found that only 26% of New York City voters sympathize more with Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 44% side with the Palestinians. Only 13% of younger voters sympathize with Israel. The poll also showed that a plurality of voters said Mamdani offered the best approach to the conflict. In a recent speech to Jewish supporters, Mamdani said his primary victory over Cuomo was an indication of how voters are deeply troubled by the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza.

Polls show Mamdani is a heavy favorite to win in November in a race that also includes Mayor Eric Adams — running as an independent — and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

Netanyahu and Cuomo were close allies when Cuomo was governor.  Last November, Cuomo announced that he joined a legal “dream team” led by prof. Alan Dershowitz to defend Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court. In the Times interview, Cuomo distanced himself from the Israeli prime minister.

“I never stood with Bibi,” he said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo’s spokesman, posted on X that Cuomo meant that he never endorsed Netanyahu in the political sense.