Los Angeles Times editorial board calls for Gaza ceasefire

The editorial board for the Los Angeles Times has called for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, soon after reports surfaced that the paper had reprimanded journalists who signed a letter condemning Israeli 'atrocities'.

In a piece entitled 'Editorial: Cease-fire now. The killing in Gaza must stop' that was published on Friday, the LA Times editorial board called on the administration of US president Joe Biden to pressure Israel into ending its brutal air and ground campaign.

"We are past the time to excuse the horror in Gaza. Biden has to press Netanyahu hard to stop the mass, indiscriminate killing. That starts with a call for a ceasefire," the editorial read.

The call made the US daily one of the first major Western news outlets to take a stand against the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, which has killed 12,300 people in the space of just six weeks.

Earlier this week, the newspaper came under fire for reportedly suspending some journalists from its coverage of Israel's war on Gaza after they signed a letter condemning the Israeli onslaught on the Palestinian territory.

According to LA Times reporter Suhauna Hussain, 34 staff members had been been taken off the war coverage after signing a letter entitled 'We condemn Israel's killing of journalists in Gaza and urge integrity in Western media coverage of Israel's atrocities against Palestinians'.

actually, it wasn’t just a dozen LA Times employees who signed, it was more than three dozen. and yes it’s true we’ve been taken off coverage, which in effect removes a great many Muslim journalists and most of not all Palestinians at the LA Times from coverage https://t.co/88EE27wsxJ

— suhauna hussain (@suhaunah) November 17, 2023

The letter was published on 9 November and signed by more than 1,000 current and former journalists.

Dissent appears to be growing at US publications as Israel's war on Gaza shows no relent and Washington does little to restrain its ally.

At the New York Times Magazine, Anne Boyer, the publication's poetry editor, resigned over New York Times coverage of Israel's conduct in its war on Gaza.

Anne Boyer resigns from NYT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LunhmiCGg2

— madeline lane-mckinley (@la_louve_rouge_) November 16, 2023