New York mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani refused to explicitly denounce Hamas in comments following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address at the U.N., where Netanyahu vowed to eliminate the group and secure hostage releases.
Mamdani criticized Netanyahu’s rhetoric, suggesting that the Israeli leader used the hostage crisis to justify continued military action that, in his view, endangers both hostages and Palestinian civilians. He condemned the U.N. speech as politically opportunistic and accused Netanyahu’s approach of fueling escalation.
Though critics accused him of failing to take a clear stand, Mamdani’s team later clarified that he has publicly characterized the October 7 attacks as a war crime and denied support for Hamas as an organization.