Harris, Trump mark Oct. 7 milestone with region still aflame
One year after Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, the ensuing turmoil and uncertainty continue to reverberate across the Middle East – and the tight race for the White House.
The shocking attack – and subsequent, punishing campaign by Israel in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip – has polarized voters and fanned concerns of a broader regional conflict that could further endanger the U.S. and its interests. Navigating the increasingly complex dynamics has proved one of the toughest tasks for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and former President Donald Trump, her Republican opponent.
On Monday, both were set to mark one year since the terrorist attacks by Hamas militants, who killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.
Trump will attend a memorial service with Jewish community leaders at one of his hotels in Miami, while Harris will plant a pomegranate tree on the grounds of her official residence in Washington in memory of those killed in the Hamas attack and reaffirm her commitment to Israel’s security.
Harris mourned the Israelis who were killed on Oct. 7 in a statement released Monday. She also said she was “heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year,” according to the statement.
In excerpts from a CBS News 60 Minutes special airing Monday evening, Harris also said the U.S. will keep pressing Israel for a deal with Hamas that leads to a cease-fire and the release of hostages the group took during the attack. Biden will join a rabbi for a commemorative candle-lighting at the White House on Monday.
Commemorations of the original attack – which sparked an Israeli invasion of Gaza that has now killed around 42,000 Palestinians – come as the Middle East teeters on the brink of regional war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon is fueling a risky new confrontation with Iran that U.S. officials worry may spiral out of control. Israeli troops re-entered northern Gaza over the weekend, underscoring the complexity of defeating Hamas.
But in the U.S., the events of Oct. 7 have also cast a long shadow over the presidential race – and it has not fallen evenly, with developments mostly hurting Democrats.
While Biden first won praise for his staunch support of Israel in the wake of the attacks, the administration’s inability to influence Israel’s military campaign as the death toll rose in Gaza prompted large-scale protests, campus unrest and intense criticism from both progressive Democrats and Arab-Americans.
Biden’s ardently pro-Israel tilt has continued under Harris, who some progressives hoped would turn up the pressure on Israel – including potentially halting weapons shipments – after some of her earlier remarks highlighted the human toll in Gaza.
But the vice president’s campaign angered some progressive Democrats when the Democratic National Convention didn’t acquiesce to a request from delegates representing primary protest voters to have a Palestinian-American address the crowd in Chicago.
“The fact that it’s a political liability to acknowledge the humanity of Arabs is just really, really jarring for people, and I don’t think the Kamala Harris campaign people really appreciate that,” said Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
“Because, frankly, everyday that this war continues, it expands – and every day that it expands, it hurts Kamala Harris,” he said.