Kamala Harris, Trump commemorate somber anniversary of October 7 Hamas attack

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are marking the first anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust as the presidential candidates approach the final weeks of the campaign during a widening conflict in the Middle East.

Political leaders across the spectrum were marking the killing of about 1,200 people, including 46 US citizens, by Hamas-led militants in the October 7 attack last year, and the taking of about 250 hostages. A year later, about 100 people, including several Americans, remain in captivity, as U.S.-led efforts to negotiate a cease-fire and hostage release deal have sputtered out.

President Joe Biden was set to mark the occasion in a somber event in the White House Blue Room, lighting a memorial candle to mark the anniversary.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will speak before Jewish community leaders at one of his Florida resorts in the Miami suburb of Doral. Harris will briefly speak to journalists and, with her husband, plant a pomegranate tree on the grounds of the Vice President’s Residence in honour of the those killed a year ago.

Earlier Monday, Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, recited a prayer for peace at an event to commemorate the anniversary hosted by the American Jewish Committee in Washington.

The attack sparked a deadly war in Gaza, as Israel moved to root out Hamas' control over the territory and try to return those taken captive. Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians.

Another Iran-backed group, Hezbollah, has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli territory in the same period from Lebanon, and Israel last month expanded a campaign of sabotage and assassination and launched a ground incursion into Lebanon to combat the threat from the group.

Iran, meanwhile, has fired large missile salvos at Israel, most recently a week ago, as the U.S. maintains troops and weaponry in the region to help Israel shoot them down.

Trump has blamed both Harris and Biden for the war, arguing their administration empowered Iran, and he has tried to take advantage of some of the divisions within the Democratic Party with progressives protesting Israel's war.

Some of Trump's statements on Israel overlook his association with people who spew antisemitic rhetoric such as far-right activist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

Trump has repeatedly said that Jewish voters who vote for Democrats “should have their head examined” and recently said that if he loses the presidential election to Harris on Nov. 5 “the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that.”

In an excerpt released from an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that will air Monday night, Harris appeared to avoid answering a question about whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considered “a real close ally,” and said, “The better question is: Do we have an important alliance between the American people and the Israeli people? And the answer to that question is yes.”

Trump’s own relations with Netanyahu have been rocky. They soured after the Israeli prime minister became one of the first world leaders to congratulate President Joe Biden for his 2020 victory, which Trump continues to deny. A few days after the Oct. 7 attack last year, Trump publicly criticized Netanyahu and said he “was not prepared” for the deadly incursion from Gaza. Trump said Netanyahu had let the U.S. down just before the US killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

Since then, the two have met to talk about a cease-fire deal for Gaza.

Halie Soifer, head of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said the conflict in the Middle East — including fighting with Hezbollah and Iran — has left Jewish voters “with a sense of vulnerability and concern for Israel’s future.” Soifer previously advised Harris on national security issues.

She says Harris has been consistent with a message of commitment to Israel’s defence for the last year, and says that Harris and Biden have directed U.S. forces to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel on multiple occasions.