Photo : Collected
President Joe Biden and US election rivals Kamala Harris and Donald Trump marked the first anniversary on Monday of Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel, as the Middle Eastern conflict threatens to weigh on November's presidential vote.
In a solemn Jewish ceremony of mourning at the White House, Biden lit a candle while a rabbi chanted a prayer for the victims, with the president calling for peace even as the region teeters on the edge of all-out war.
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Harris separately planted a memorial tree at her Washington residence, while Republican former president Trump met Jewish leaders at a sacred gravesite in New York.
"Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict," Biden, who has backed key ally Israel with billions of dollars in arms, said in a statement.
The president lashed out at the "unspeakable brutality" of the attacks and said he and Harris were "fully committed" to Israel's security against Iran and its regional allies -- Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Huthis in Yemen.
But he also described October 7 as a "dark day for the Palestinian people" and said he and Harris "will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza."
Messenger/Disha
