Biden and Harris mark one year since October 7 attack, calling for a ceasefire and hostage deal

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris marked one year since the deadly October 7 attack in Israel with statements commemorating the “solemn” anniversary and calling for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

“We will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, allows for a surge in humanitarian aid to ease the suffering on the ground, assures Israel’s security, and ends this war. Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity, and peace,” Biden wrote in a written statement.

He also said: “On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day.”

Harris and Biden also both called for a diplomatic solution amid the now-expanding war between Hezbollah and Israel. And both leaders reiterated US support for Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of attacks by Iran.

“It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people. And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination. 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,” Harris wrote.

And the vice president said she is “devastated” by the loss and pain felt since the October 7 attack, which launched the war in Gaza.

“We will not forget, and we will not lose faith. And in honor of all those souls we lost on October 7, we must never lose sight of the dream of peace, dignity, and security for all,” she wrote.

Netanyahu and Gallant pay tribute to October 7 victims

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has paid tribute to the “fallen of Jerusalem” in a joint event with the city’s major, one year after the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

Netanyahu and Moshe Leon lit candles at the “Iron Swords” monument erected in Jerusalem in honor of the victims.

“We went through a terrible massacre a year ago, and we stood up as a people, as lions. The people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up themselves as a young lion,” the pair said in a statement on Monday.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meanwhile issued a lengthy statement remembering the “nightmare of a brutal attack” and pledging to win “a war against enemies on 7 different fronts.”

“The peaceful communities, the site of a music festival, the agricultural lands – the beautiful region of southern Israel, was scorched by bloodthirsty murderers with only one wish in their hearts – the total destruction and annihilation of Israel,” Gallant said.

“On this painful day, more than ever, we are eternally committed to the security and continuity of the State of Israel and her people.”

American hostage families spoke with senior White House officials Sunday

Some families of the Americans believed to be held hostage by Hamas in Gaza spoke with two senior White House officials on Sunday, a source familiar with the call said.

The call with senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein, who traveled to Israel last month, and White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk came one day before the anniversary of the October 7th terror attack against Israel.

In a statement Monday morning, US President Joe Biden renewed his calls for a ceasefire deal that would secure the release of hostages even as those talks have gained little traction in recent weeks.

“Today and every day, I think of the hostages and their families. I have met the families of the hostages and grieved with them. They have been through hell. My Administration has negotiated for the safe release of more than 100 hostages, including Americans. We will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely,” the president wrote in the statement.

“We will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, allows for a surge in humanitarian aid to ease the suffering on the ground, assures Israel’s security, and ends this war. Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity, and peace,” he added.

President Biden said on Saturday that he would be speaking with the hostage families, but it’s unclear whether any of those conversations might happen today.

The White House did not immediately comment on the hostage families’ call with McGurk and Hochstein on Sunday.

Israelis mourn victims of Hamas’s October 7 attacks


_{Families and supporters of the Israeli captives held in Gaza gathered outside PM Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem to mark one year since the deadly October 7 attacks by Hamas}

<sub>People in Jerusalem stood still as a siren sounded at 6:29am to mark the time at which Hamas launched the attacks on Israel last year


Israelis also held a gathering at the site of the Nova festival in Reim, southern Israel, to mark one year since hundreds of partygoers were killed and kidnapped


Israeli President Isaac Herzog joined the crowds at Reim and held a moment of silence to mourn the victims of the Hamas-led assault</sub>

Israeli campaign group announces death of captive

The Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum says Idan Shtivi, 28, who was abducted from the site of the Nova music festival on October 7, has been killed and that his “body is still held captive by Hamas”.

The group did not say how they had confirmed Shtivi’s death.

It said Shtivi had just arrived at the festival site when Hamas’s attacks began.

The group added he went to the Nova festival to document his friends’ performances, but never made it inside. “When the attack began, Idan helped two strangers he had just met escape from the site. This selfless choice ultimately led to his abduction,” it added.

President Herzog says world ‘must support Israel’ to bring peace

Isaac Herzog has issued the statement as Israel marks the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on October 7.

“The world has to realise and understand that in order to change the course of history and bring peace, a better future to the region, it must support Israel in its battle against its enemies,” he said.

_{President Herzog and his wife Michal attend the funeral of Israeli-American captive Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024}

Macron mourns victims of October 7 attacks

The French president paid tributes to the victims of Hamas’s October 7 attack in a post on X.

“The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity,” he wrote. “We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts.”

Macron on Sunday spoke to Netanyahu and reaffirmed France’s “unwavering commitment” to Israel’s security and insisted on a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, according to his office.

October 7.

The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity.

We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 7, 2024

France foreign minister attends October 7 attack memorial in Israel

Jean-Noel Barrot has attended a ceremony in southern Israel to commemorate the October 7 Hamas attack.

Barrot will meet his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, before heading to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. He will also make a statement in Reim in the presence of the families of the French victims of the attack.

The Israeli government’s relationship with France took a turn at the weekend when French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt of arms deliveries to Israel because of the relentless bombing of Gaza, and after it launched a military operation against Lebanon.

Israelis gather to pay tribute to Nova festival victims

Israelis are paying tribute to the 364 people killed at the Nova festival exactly one year ago.

Families of the victims will observe a moment of silence to mark the moment Hamas fighters launched their attack on the site. Forty-four people were taken captive from there by Palestinian groups.

Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker reports from Amman, Jordan, as Al Jazeera is banned from reporting in Israel and the occupied West Bank:

Netanyahu says Israel ‘obligated’ to bring the captives home

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to bring back all captives in Gaza as Israel marks the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack.

“On this day, in this place, and in many places across our country, we remember our dead, our hostages, whom we are obligated to bring back and our heroes who fell in defence of the homeland and the nation. We went through a terrible massacre a year ago,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office.

Netanyahu and West Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion also visited the October 7 memorial for civilians and soldiers who have died since that date.

“As the months of war taught us well, our strength is in our unity. Only together will we win,” Netanyahu said.

Australia’s PM condemns Hamas’s October 7 attack

Anthony Albanese says October 7 is a day that carries “terrible pain” and that his government “unequivocally” condemns Hamas’s attack on Israel a year ago.

He added that since the attack, Jewish Australians have “felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day” and that “there is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith”.

The prime minister, who did not mention Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza, also said “every innocent life matters” and the “number of civilians who have lost their lives is a devastating tragedy”.


Japan condemns Hamas attack, expresses concern over Gaza

Japan has “unequivocally condemned” the Hamas-led attack on Israel a year ago, but said it is “gravely concerned” by the humanitarian situation in Gaza 12 months on.

“Japan has consistently and unequivocally condemned the terror attacks by Hamas and others, and urge the immediate release of all hostages still being held captive,” Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said.

“At the same time, Japan is gravely concerned about the ongoing critical humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” Iwaya said, pointing to the “large number of civilians” killed and the insecurity facing both Israelis and Palestinians.

“Japan is seriously concerned about the rising tensions beyond Israel and the Gaza Strip throughout the Middle East region, including the West Bank, Lebanon, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and Iran,” he added.

Germany stands ‘by your side’, Scholz tells Israel

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is the latest Western leader to issue a statement on the anniversary of the October 7 attack, reiterating his country’s support for Israel.

“We feel with you the horror, the pain, the uncertainty and the sadness. We stand by your side,” he said in his message to Israelis. “The Hamas terrorists must be fought.”

Germany is one of Israel’s top military suppliers. Since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip, police in Berlin have been accused of cracking down on Palestinian rights activism, including the staging of protests.

In his statement, Scholz also mentioned the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, saying “people need hope and perspectives if they are to renounce terror.”

“That’s why the federal government is calling for a ceasefire, for the hostages to be freed, and for a political process – even if that seems more distant today than ever,” he said.

Israeli activist works with Palestinians for lasting peace

Maoz Inon, an Israeli peace activist, recounted to Al Jazeera how his parents were killed in the October 7 attack by Hamas.

“Exactly a year ago, we lost contact with my parents. They lived 200 metres from the border with Gaza where they raised me and my four siblings. As the names of their neighbours, of our childhood friends, started coming, we realised that we needed to be prepared for the worst. At 5pm, we received the tragic news that my parents were burned to death in the house they loved so much and described as heaven.”

Despite the ordeal he went through, Inon now works with Palestinian activists to stop the war and for the release of the remaining captives.

“The entire region has been going down in flames in the last year and what we are doing … is offering an alternative – a radical and positive vision for the future of our people, Palestinians and Israelis. This is the legacy of my parents who believed all humans are equal and all human beings should live in peace, in dignity, and in security and safety.”

_{The aftermath of the attack on the Supernova music festival in southern Israel}

7 October 2023 was the darkest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.

One year on from these horrific attacks we must unequivocally stand with the Jewish community and unite as a country.

We will not falter in our pursuit of peace and on this day of pain and sorrow, we…

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 7, 2024

Israeli security cannot be guaranteed by ‘force alone’: France

Israel’s safety and security cannot be guaranteed only with military force and will require a diplomatic solution, according to France.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot made the comments on a visit to the country on the first anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks that triggered the war on Gaza.

“Force alone cannot guarantee the security of Israel, your security. Military success cannot be a substitute for a political perspective,” Barrot told reporters. “To bring the hostages home to their loved ones, to allow the displaced to return home in the north, after a year of war, the time for diplomacy has come.”

A French-US proposal for a ceasefire to end fighting in Lebanon remains on the table with parties continuing to work on it, he said. Barrot’s comments come after French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged a halt to arms deliveries to Israel.

Netanyahu says Israel ‘changing security reality’ in region

The Israeli prime minister made the comments during a cabinet address, his office says in a statement.

“We are changing the security reality in our region for the sake of our children, for the sake of our future, to ensure that what happened on October 7 will not happen again,” Netanyahu said, according to his office.

“Never again.”

October 7 attack ‘biggest security failure in Israel’s history’

It has been exactly one year since Hamas launched its attack on Israel, killing more than 1,100 people and taking about 250 others captive.

Israel marked the anniversary by pounding Gaza with air attacks. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the past year – from newborn babies to the elderly in Israel’s offensive in response to the attack.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut takes a look at how the October 7 incursion unfolded:

October 7

Investigation into the events of October 7, war crimes, atrocities and separating truth from fiction.

Hamas’s incursion into Israel on October 7 transformed the politics of the Middle East. Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has carried out a forensic analysis of the events of that day – examining seven hours of footage from CCTV, dashcams, personal phones and headcams of dead Hamas fighters, and drawing up a comprehensive list of those killed.

In October 7, the I-Unit reveals widespread human rights abuses by Hamas fighters and others who followed them through the fence from Gaza into Israel. But the investigation also found that many of the worst stories that came out in the days following the attack were false. This was especially true of atrocities that were used repeatedly by politicians in Israel and the West to justify the ferocity of the bombardment of the Gaza Strip, such as the mass killing of babies and allegations of widespread and systematic rape. In particular the I-Unit reveals that claims by the Israel Defence Force that it found 8 burned babies at a house in Kibbutz Be’eri were entirely untrue. There were no babies in the house and the 12 civilians inside were killed by Israeli forces when they stormed the house. This was one of a number of incidents where the police and army appear to have killed Israeli citizens.

October 7 is a deep dive into the events that led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the significance of which will reverberate for decades.

How Gaza war disinformation spread

Marc Owen Jones, an associate professor of media analytics at Northwestern University in Qatar, says social media and tech companies have played a significant role in spreading disinformation about the October 7 attack in southern Israel, and about Palestinians and Arabs as a whole.

“The most significant was the one at the very beginning, which was the disinformation that Hamas had beheaded up to 40 babies. This news originated in the i24 News report, and it spread virally on social media, unchecked. It was then on front pages of newspapers across the world the next day,” he told Al Jazeera.

Owen Jones noted that the so-called “dead baby propaganda” has long been used at times of war.

“The idea that killing babies is a red line for any society, culture across the world, and this was the pretext which allowed Israel to basically launch the genocidal campaign in Gaza because it allowed them to say, ‘look, Hamas is brutal, they’re beheading babies’,” Owen Jones said.

Over the past year, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 17,000 children, according to health officials, with the UN calling the besieged and bombarded territory “a graveyard for children”.

Israel uses disinformation to justify war crimes

For decades, Israeli leaders have used dehumanising language to describe Palestinians in order to justify Israel’s occupation.

Since October 7, words have become a weapon to legitimise the war on Gaza. Propaganda and disinformation have also backed up the military offensive on the ground. Palestinians say this is meant to provide justification for war crimes.

‘No way out’ of Gaza’s war

Al Jazeera’s correspondents reporting from Gaza have been witnesses to Israel’s war on the enclave that has killed and wounded tens of thousands of people.

As the devastating war marks its first year, Palestinian correspondent Hind Khoudary reflects on reporting and living in the Strip.

One year of Israel’s war on Gaza

It has been a year since Hamas attacked Israel, and Israel launched its war on Gaza. More than 41,900 Palestinians have been killed, much of Gaza has been decimated, and Israel stands accused of carrying out genocide.

Start Here with Sandra Gathmann explains what you need to know to understand where things stand now, and why some people are calling this the worst war in modern history.

UN official in Gaza says people "remain desperate" as war hits one-year mark

One year since the October 7 attacks, people in Gaza remain desperate for relief from Israel’s unrelenting offensive, a United Nations official in the enclave told CNN.

“People here remain desperate. Hostages remain in Gaza, their families wait for them,” Georgios Petropoulos, head of the UN humanitarian affairs (UNOCHA) suboffice in Gaza, told CNN’s Rosemary Church.

“Even at 4 a.m. this morning, we were woken up by renewed bombing here in Rafah, Gaza … From jets buzzing, shelling and tank fire. The only thing that’s left in Gaza, would say is hope. Our supplies are almost zero.”

The Israeli military launched a new offensive in northern Gaza this weekend, days before the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks, which killed over 1,200 people.

The war in Gaza – which Israel says is aimed at destroying Hamas – has killed more than 41,000 people and triggered a dire humanitarian crisis.

Petropoulos said almost 100,000 are wounded in the ongoing war and an unknown number of people – possibly in the thousands – remain under rubble across Gaza.

"There’s fighting around, there’s no safe locations.”

There are an estimated 430,000 people left in northern Gaza, Petropoulos said, and not many of those displaced are motivated to move south due to the lack of supplies all over.

“If 430,000 people are pushed to come south, I have to be very clear – no idea where we will put them, what we will give them to eat, and how we will shelter these people.”

The intensified bombardment and the advance of the Israeli forces means that around 50,000 people have been displaced in the last 24 hours from the northern communities of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalya, Petropoulos said.

"Should we kill ourselves?": Displaced Palestinians wonder where to go after year of war


_{A Palestinian man speaks to CNN in Jabalya, northern Gaza, on October 6}

Several Palestinian fathers in Gaza told CNN their families cannot face another wave of displacement, as Israeli forces launched renewed aerial and ground attacks in northern Gaza on Sunday.

CNN footage from Jabalya showed boys riding bicycles and vendors manning thinly stocked market stalls yesterday. Echoes of young children filled the area as women walked wearily along the dusty pathway. The Israeli military told people to evacuate Gaza’s north to the Israeli-designated “humanitarian area” of Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis.

But residents say they are wary of attempting to flee the besieged neighborhood in search of refuge, citing numerous Israeli attacks targeting Hamas militants in Israeli-designated “safe zones."

"I don’t know where to go,” one man with grey stubble told CNN. “What did we do? We have children, we have women, we have the elderly. Where should we all go? What should we do? Should we kill ourselves?

“I will die and not go to the south,” he said, adding that he was trying to protect 20 other relatives from Israel’s bombardment. “We are resisting and will not leave the north, even if I die here.”

The Israeli offensive in Gaza since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks has displaced 1.9 million people, according to the UN. On Sunday, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees warned that the enclave “has become a place unfit for humans,” citing destruction, hunger and disease

"They have humiliated us and lied to us… My entire family lives in the south in a tent, and they are not safe at all,” Mohammad Ibrahim, a father-of-two in Jabalya, told CNN over the phone.

The history teacher said he would rather stay with his two sons at their home, preferring to die “with dignity.”

“There are many like me who will stay in Jabalya. We have no friends, relatives, or real safe shelter, and since death is the same, we will remain.”

Khader Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed reporting.

UN humanitarian agency laments ‘one year of unimaginable suffering’

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has called on world leaders to bring an end to the “unimaginable suffering” and the “unrelenting tragedy” in the Middle East on the anniversary of Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel.

It noted that Hamas’s attacks killed some 1,200 people in Israel, while Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 41,600 Palestinians and displaced nearly the entire population of the enclave.

Scores of Israeli captives remain in Gaza while thousands of Palestinians have been arbitrarily detained and reportedly subjected to torture, it said. Civilians in Gaza, meanwhile, face extreme deprivation, with limited or no access to healthcare, food, electricity or humanitarian aid, it noted.

“No statistics or words can fully convey the extent of the physical, mental and societal devastation that has taken place,” said Joyce Msuya, the acting undersecretary-general and emergency relief coordinator.

“But we know what must happen: The hostages must be released and treated humanely. Civilians must be protected and their essential needs met. Palestinians arbitrarily detained must be released. Humanitarian workers must be safeguarded and their work facilitated. Perpetrators must be held accountable for any serious violations of international humanitarian law. And the assault on Gaza must stop,” she said.


_{Women mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 6}

Palestinian women, children systematically dehumanised, says UN expert

Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur for violence against women and girls, says that over the past year, women in Gaza have gone through “the most bloody chapter” of inhumane Israeli mistreatment.

This includes “collective punishment, incarceration, sexual violence and deliberate extermination”, she told Al Jazeera.

“Women and children have been systematically dehumanised – where children are seen as not innocent and where women’s wombs are seen as something that has to be attacked and exterminated,” Alsalem said.

This is being carried out through large-scale violence, attacks on health infrastructure amounting to reproductive violence, “and forcing women to leave their babies behind” when Israeli troops forcefully evacuate hospitals, in addition to starving lactating mothers.