Michiganders mark the 1st anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s military response

Many people across Michigan spent the weekend marking Monday the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the ongoing war.

In the 2023 attack, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. They are still holding around 100 prisoners, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. It is not said how many fighters there were, but it is said that just over half were women and children.

On Sunday morning, dozens of Jewish peace activists gathered in a park along the Detroit River.

“We are here today to mourn every life that has been lost in the past year, Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese,” Dana Kornburg said with the group Jewish Voice for Peace – Detroit.

The peace activists are calling on the US government to stop supplying military weapons to Israel.

Many Israel supporters in Michigan strongly oppose a US arms embargo.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reiterated his call for a partial arms embargo on Israel, prompting an angry response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu had described such calls by Macron as a “disgrace”. Macron’s office insisted that “France is Israel’s steadfast friend” and called Netanyahu’s comments “excessive.”

Later on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said the two leaders had spoken and agreed to “foster dialogue” on the issue. Macron’s office called the discussion “open” and said both leaders “accepted their different views.”