Harris, Trump and Biden mark October 7 attacks as US election looms
US presidential candidates approach the final weeks of the campaign during a widening conflict in the Middle East
President Joe Biden and US election rivals Kamala Harris and Donald Trump marked the first anniversary on Monday of Hamas’ 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.
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”.