New York, New York - New York City's Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani joined an Israelis for Peace vigil on Tuesday amid controversy over a statement he released on October 7 – two years after Israel launched its brutal siege of Gaza.

Mamdani attended the Union Square vigil along with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a former mayoral contender who cross-endorsed the state assemblymember ahead of the June Democratic primary.

Israelis for Peace is a New York City-based group advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.

Earlier in the day, Mamdani issued an official statement marking the anniversary of October 7, 2023.

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"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," the mayoral hopeful opened.

"In the aftermath of that day, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli government launched a genocidal war: a death toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble. 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. Our government has been complicit through it all," he continued.

"This must end," Mamdani urged. "The occupation and apartheid must end. Peace must be pursued through diplomacy, not war crimes, and our government must act to end these atrocities and hold those responsible to account."

He concluded by reaffirming his "unwavering commitment to universal human rights."

Mamdani's statement drew a furious response from Israel's foreign ministry, which accused him of acting as a "mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda."

Mamdani won New York City's Democratic mayoral primary in part due to his support for Palestinian human rights.

As the general election approaches, he has been called out for what some perceive as a backsliding in his rhetoric around Palestinian rights and freedom – including in the statement he released Tuesday.

Journalist and media critic Sana Saeed posted on X: "I know [Mamdani] and his team – and even many of his supporters – believe this was the best possible statement he could have made, one that they believe centers the devastation inflicted on Palestinians since Oct 7."

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"But the reality is that to frame an instance of Palestinian violence, occurring within and in response to eight decades of occupation and life in an open-air prison, as equivalent to – or in the same moral register as – those eight decades and the past two years of the Israeli extermination campaign, is genocide apologia," she continued.

"And Palestinians aren't even mentioned once. Not once."

Palestinian-American journalist Ali Abunimah wrote on X, "Resistance is not a 'horrific war crime,' Hamas did not kill '1,100 Israelis' on October 7, and occupation soldiers aren’t 'hostages.' These facts matter."

"Zohran Mamdani can't balance out these distortions and lies by also condemning 'Israel’s' crimes. He knows this but he's made his choices. It’s another reminder you can't pose a threat to a system you seek to join," Abunimah added.

Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of the activist group Within Our Lifetime, also took to X to call out Mamdani's message, which she described as "disgraceful."

"Invoking 'universal human rights' sounds principled, but it empties the struggle of its political meaning," she explained. "Palestinians are not asking for abstract ideals. They are demanding freedom, return, and liberation from a settler state built on their destruction. At a time when Gaza is being erased, statements like this do not show courage. They show complicity."

In addition to the Israelis for Peace vigil, Tuesday also saw a massive gathering of New Yorkers waving Palestinian flags march through the streets of Manhattan demanding an end to US support for Israel's atrocities.