New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement on Wenesday commemorating the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre, in which he said that "the suffering did not begin nor end that day."
The suffering "instead continued through the Israeli government's devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, including 21,000 children," Mamdani claimed.
"Even since the so-called ceasefire, more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed. 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 added.
"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," he alleged.
"Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment," he claimed.
Mamdani condemns Hamas's 'horrific war crimes of October 7' massacre
"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 wrote.
Official Israeli figures put the death toll at over 1,200 Israelis murdered during the massacre.
"To honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity," Mamdani concluded.
Huckabee 'infuriated' by Mamdani's statements
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned Mamdani's statements as "absurd and completely false."
"There is no apartheid, and there is no occupation. The man knows that what he is saying is not true. It would be as if on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 he were to stand up and say: ‘Yes, it was tragic that those planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, but America overreacted, America went beyond what it should have, and America must be condemned for its response to the massacre of its own people,’" Huckabee said.
"Israel responded rightly to the massacre and slaughter of so many civilians, including women,” he added.
Danon: Mamdani's statement is like 'turning 9/11 into a day of mourning for al-Qaeda terrorists'
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, denounced Mamdani's statement as an "attempt to hijack the anniversary of October 7 and turn it into yet another propaganda attack against Israel."
"It is like turning September 11 into a day of mourning for al-Qaeda terrorists," Danon accused.
"We will not let this happen. We will remember those who were murdered, and we will never forget who was behind this massacre," he said.
Additionally, Israel's Consul-General in New York, Ofir Akunis, denounced Mamdani's speech, calling him "a disgrace, source of shame, and an insult to the memory of the murdered victims."
"It is not too late to attend the screening of the atrocities film we are holding this evening and witness with your own eyes, for the first time, the kind of human monsters you support," Akunis said.
"Anyone with a human heart should be ashamed of Mamdani's response to the October 7 massacre, a day when human monsters invaded the State of Israel on a holiday, murdering, kidnapping, beheading hundreds, and raping hundreds of women," Akunis said.
"Mamdani, displaying a complete lack of human sensitivity, continues to spread his antisemitic blood libels against the Jewish state. It is a disgrace to New York City that such a man stands at its helm, and chooses, on this day, to show disrespect for the memory of the murdered victims," he added.
"For the Jewish and Israeli community, October 7 is, first and foremost, a day of mourning, remembrance, and trauma. On the third anniversary of Hamas' mass murder, mass rape, mass torture, and mass hostage taking of over 1,200 Israelis, Mayor Mamdani chose, once again, to use the day to accuse Israel of "genocide." That claim is demonstrably false. The IDF has taken extraordinary steps to minimize civilian casualties, far beyond what the law of armed conflict requires, while fighting an enemy that systematically hides behind women and children and uses civilians as human shields," the Israeli-American Council said.
"This is not a one-time lapse. Every year, on the anniversary of the day our community buries its dead, the mayor reaches for the same blood libel against the Jewish state. Rhetoric like this doesn't stay online - it is exactly the kind of messaging that has fueled a documented rise in antisemitic incidents across New York City," IAC added.
"The mayor's job is to keep New Yorkers safe and ensure Jewish and Israeli residents can mourn without their grief being hijacked for a political attack. The mayor today has betrayed his duty and continued to fuel anti-Jewish hatred," IAC said.
Idan Kweller contributed to this report.