JERUSALEM — (VINnews) U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sharply condemned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday over his statement marking the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, accusing the mayor of insulting the victims of the massacre by focusing on Israel’s response.

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The statement by NY Mayor Mandami is an outrageous & disgusting rant & made on a day that ought to honor the over 1200 civilians butchered by Hamas including 46 Americans. His comments are as insensitive & insulting as saying on the 9-11 Anniversary that “While we mourn the loss of those murdered by terrorists we condemn the response of the United States equally .” There is NO genocide in Gaza. The death toll there is due to Hamas having continued to hold hostages (including Americans) and starving, raping, torturing and killing them. An apology for his obtuse and utterly ignorant remarks are not enough. God help the people of New York for electing a a jihadist sympathizer!

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 7, 2026

“The statement by NY Mayor Mamdani is an outrageous & disgusting rant,” Huckabee wrote on X.

Huckabee said the anniversary should have been devoted to honoring the more than 1,200 civilians killed by Hamas, including 46 Americans.

He compared Mamdani’s remarks to marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by mourning those killed by terrorists while condemning the U.S. response “equally.”

Huckabee also rejected Mamdani’s characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, writing, “There is NO genocide in Gaza.”

The ambassador argued that Hamas bears responsibility for the continuing suffering, accusing the group of holding hostages and of starving, raping, torturing and killing them.

Huckabee said an apology from Mamdani would not be sufficient and accused the mayor of being a “jihadist sympathizer,” adding, “God help the people of New York.”

Mamdani’s statement acknowledged that Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 people on Oct. 7, but quickly shifted its focus to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Mamdani accused the Israeli government of carrying out an “ongoing genocide,” alleged war crimes and criticized U.S. military support for Israel, saying that “our tax dollars fund these war crimes.”

Huckabee’s criticism adds to a growing backlash against Mamdani’s statement from Israeli, Jewish and pro-Israel figures who say the mayor used an anniversary dedicated to the victims of the Hamas attack to condemn Israel.

The controversy comes as New York City marks three years since the Hamas-led attack, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken to Gaza.