New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel with a statement that acknowledged the Israelis killed and abducted before focusing largely on accusations of genocide, occupation, and apartheid against Israel.
“This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7. On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss,” Mamdani says.
While Mamdani cited more than 1,100 deaths, the October 7 Attacks Summary puts the death toll from the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7–8, 2023, at 1,219, with official tallies generally cited as approximately 1,200.
Mamdani then turned to the war in Gaza, citing figures from the Hamas Health Ministry that have not been independently verified and do not distinguish between civilians and terrorists.
“The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians—including more than 21,000 children,” he continued.
Mamdani also accused Israel of killing 1,400 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect last October. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has continued operations in Gaza, saying it targets Hamas members and infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed armed group.
“That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing,” he wrote.
The IDF says Hamas embeds infrastructure in civilian areas and that some Gaza-based journalists have ties to armed groups. Israel also maintains that Hamas has looted aid intended for civilians. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says Israel secured the passage of around 2 million tons of aid since the war began.
“Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them—all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes,” Mamdani adds.
He concluded by calling for an end to what he described as “occupation and apartheid” and US arms shipments to Israel.
