On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel, while hundreds of Hamas terrorists poured across the border from Gaza to kill, rape, and torture. That day 1200 people in Israel – the vast majority civilians – were gruesomely murdered; 250 more were taken into Gaza as hostages. It was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
“What Hamas did that day was pure evil – it was brutal and sickening,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the attack. “And it has rekindled a deep fear among the Jewish people not just in Israel, but in the United States and around the world.”
In a separate statement, President Joe Biden deplored the horrific attack on October 7 and its “unspeakable brutality.”
“I made clear then to the people of Israel: you are not alone. One year later, Vice President Harris and I remain fully committed to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist,” President Biden said. “We support Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iran. Last week, at my direction, the United States military once again actively assisted in the successful defense of Israel, helping to defeat an Iranian ballistic missile attack.”
President Biden noted that “history will also remember October 7th as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day. Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict – tens of thousands have been killed, a human toll made far worse by terrorists hiding and operating among innocent people.”
President Biden promised that the United States “will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, allows for surge in humanitarian aid to ease suffering on the ground, assures Israel’s security, and ends this war. Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity and peace. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.
“On this day of remembrance,” said President Biden, “we honor the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people and mourn the victims of October 7th. May their memory be a blessing.”
