Biden and Harris mark October 7 anniversary with call for Middle East peace

A sombre US President Joe Biden lit a candle on Monday at a Jewish ceremony of mourning to mark a year since Hamas’s attacks on Israel, as he and Vice-President Kamala Harris stepped up what have so far been futile calls for peace in the Middle East.

Biden condemned the October 7 attacks but also criticised the civilian death toll in Gaza, underscoring the tightrope that he and Democratic presidential hopeful Harris are treading on a conflict that could impact next month’s US election.

In a short ceremony at the White House, the 81-year-old president and First Lady Jill Biden stood in silence as a rabbi chanted a prayer for the dead, before Biden lit a single candle in memory of those killed.

“Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict,” Biden said in a statement.

Biden lashed out at the “unspeakable brutality” of the October 7 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 Houthis in Yemen.