'Unspeakable brutality': Leaders condemn 7 October atrocities but call for peace

Joe Biden yesterday condemned the "unspeakable brutality" of the 7 October attacks launched by Hamas on Israel as world leaders and governments marked their first anniversary in commemorations ranging from official statements to formal ceremonies and small private vigils

- Jon Henley

The attack killed nearly 1,200 people, according to Israeli government figures, including hundreds at a music festival near the Israel-Gaza border. About 250 hostages were taken. The Israeli offensive into Gaza it triggered has since killed nearly 42,000 people, most of them civilians, according to health authorities.

The US president paid tribute to the people including American citizens - killed and kidnapped, and said he remained committed to Israel's right to defend itself a year on.

"I believe that history will also remember 7 October as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day," Biden said. "Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict." The conflict has widened into a regional crisis involving Lebanon, where Israel is conducting heavy airstrikes nearly a year after Hezbollah militants began an exchange of fire with Israeli forces; Yemen's Houthi rebels; and Iran, which last week fired 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of its allies and an Iranian general.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said yesterday was "a day for the global community to repeat in the loudest voice our utter condemnation of the abhorrent acts of Hamas, including the taking of hostages", who he said must be released immediately and unconditionally.