LONDON: New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for waging a “genocidal war” in Gaza, and called for a ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The Democratic nominee later attended a vigil in Manhattan marking the two-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, The Guardian reported.
The event was hosted by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group who have convened weekly demonstrations since 2023 to call for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
Mamdani’s statement said: “Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more.
“I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities.”
He highlighted a death toll in Gaza “that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals and schools into rubble.”
Mamdani added: “Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered.”
The last two years of war has “demonstrated the very worst of humanity,” he said, calling for an end to Israeli “occupation and apartheid.”
