Washington DC - President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris commemorated the Hamas-led attack on Israel a year ago Monday while giving a nod to Palestinian victims of Israel's destruction of Gaza.

"Let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day," Biden said.

Democratic presidential candidate Harris said she would "never forget the horror of October 7, 2023" when Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing almost 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 hostages.

"I am devastated by the loss and pain of the Israeli people," she said in a statement.

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Biden placed responsibility for the staggering Palestinian death toll since that day on Palestinian groups, saying that "history will also remember October 7 as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day."

"Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict," he added.

In her statement, Harris also left out Israel's role in the killing of over 41,000 people in Gaza – the vast majority women and children – declaring herself "heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction."

Both she and Biden underlined their commitment to military backing of Israel, which stands accused of committing a litany of war crimes up to and including genocide with US weapons.

"One year later, Vice President Harris and I remain fully committed to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist," Biden said.

Harris, on the other hand, claimed that she would "always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination."

"We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm," she said, referring to Israel's expansion of the war into Lebanon.