New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down Thursday in accusing Israel of waging a genocide in Gaza after being criticized over a statement he released yesterday on the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks while also being called a "traitor" by anti-Israel protesters.
Mamdani, during the anniversary of the attacks on Wednesday, released a statement saying three years ago, "on that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others.
"We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss," Mamdani said. "The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians — including more than 21,000 children," he continued.
Mamdani later was heckled by anti-Israel protesters as he attended a vigil for the Oct. 7, 2023, victims, despite being a longtime critic of the Israeli government's actions in Gaza.
"I was proud to attend last night's vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on Oct. 7 and those who've been killed in the three years since, and all of whom united in a vision for peace and an end to the genocide in Gaza. And when we're speaking of that genocide, we're speaking of one that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians in the last three years," Mamdani told reporters Thursday. "As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up for.
"And I've been very clear, both as a candidate as well as the mayor of our city, of my firm belief that we have to extend human rights to all people and that has to include Palestinians. And that as Americans, we have a special responsibility, given our federal government's complicity in funding so much of the weaponry that has been used over these last three years," Mamdani continued.
"And we also know that when we are commemorating the anniversary, three years of horrific war crimes, three years since Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted hundreds more, three years of an anniversary that has brought unthinkable devastation to so many that also the Israeli government used and continues to use that day, those war crimes, as a justification for an ongoing genocide against Palestinians.
“This is something that has shattered the lives of so many New Yorkers, whether in those who I was standing alongside at the vigil, recounting their own family members who were killed, or reading the testimonies of Palestinians whose family members have been killed, or the then-Palestinian New Yorkers that I met soon after that vigil who shared with me — for example, a Palestinian-Christian nurse here in New York City sharing with me that she lost 17 of her family members when the Israeli military bombed a church," Mamdani said. "It has devastated people's lives across our city."
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this post.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said Thursday that a crude oil tanker has been struck while traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
The incident, in which the tanker was hit by an "unknown projectile," happened on Wednesday, according to the UKMTO.
"There have been no reported casualties. Damage assessment and environmental impact are unknown at time of report," it added.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. military "will not be attacking Iran" in the leadup to November's midterm elections.
"We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran. I want to make it clear to everybody that, while Iran is in very bad condition, both Economically and Militarily, and while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, with Oil flowing in Record Numbers of Barrels through the Hormuz Strait (22 Million Barrels, last night alone, with not one barrel coming from, or going to, Iran!), we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"IRAN WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" the president also declared.
{{#rendered}}A White House official told Fox News on Thursday that "President Trump holds all the cards and will do whatever is best for the United States" when asked to respond to reporting about potential strikes against Iran.
The remark comes after The Atlantic, citing two administration officials, reported Wednesday that “The White House has asked the Pentagon to develop strike options against Iranian targets that could be exercised ahead of the midterms.”
“The Commander-in-Chief has all options available at any time. The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing," the White House official said.
"Iran has been decimated, and things will go one of two ways; the easy way or the hard way," the official added.
Fox News' Patrick Ward contributed to this post.
U.S. Central Command said it held a meeting Thursday with international shipping partners to discuss the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, where ships continue to be targeted during the U.S.-Iran war.
"Leaders highlighted building momentum for freedom of navigation as commercial traffic flow increases," CENTCOM wrote on X.
"Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, thanked industry leaders and other U.S. government agencies for their continued support and acknowledged the sacrifices made by civilian crews due to unwarranted Iranian attacks," it added.
U.S. Central Command said the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is returning home to San Diego, California, on Thursday following its "historic deployment to the Middle East" during Operation Epic Fury.
"Over 5,000 Sailors and Marines supported thousands of combat flights and sailed more than 90,000 miles," CENTCOM said on X. "Congratulations on the well-deserved reunion with loved ones!"
The ship spent more than 300 days at sea during the deployment.
“What the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group did, no other carrier strike group has ever done,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday. “10,000 sorties, 23,000 combat flight hours, almost 4,000 combat sorties, 1.5 million pounds of ordnance dropped on the enemy,” he added.
Fox News Digital's Emma Bussey contributed to this post.
{{#rendered}}The Saudi General Directorate of Civil Defense said Thursday that buildings in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh have suffered damage after a ballistic missile was intercepted.
“Shrapnel fallout resulting from the interception of a ballistic missile in Riyadh city caused material damage to a children's nursery and a medical clinic complex,” it wrote on X.
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed earlier Thursday that it launched a ballistic missile attack against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Thursday that the U.S. military has lost more aircraft during the war than the Congressional Research Service has reported.
"In May, the Congressional Research Service admitted that Iran’s Armed Forces had taken out 42 U.S. military aircraft. Now: 81. Real toll is far higher," Araghchi wrote on X.
The aircraft that were lost included some of the military's most advanced fighters and critical support aircraft, as well as dozens of drones, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) noted in its report.
CRS, a nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress that provides research and analysis to lawmakers and congressional committees, identified 12 F-15E Strike Eagles, an F-35A Lightning II, seven KC-135 refueling tankers, an E-3 Sentry airborne warning-and-control aircraft and 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones among those lost or damaged since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, 2026.
Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this post.
Multiple sources told Reuters on Thursday that smoke was seen rising from an aircraft at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following a reported Houthi attack.
The aircraft is believed to be empty, three people briefed on the matter said to Reuters.
Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said in a post on X that “We intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh.”
{{#rendered}}U.S. Central Command released a video late Wednesday showing a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet being refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker in the Middle East.
CENTCOM said over the summer that “more than 50,000 U.S. service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready” during Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Thursday that it killed a commander in Hamas' military wing who "infiltrated Israel during the October 7 Massacre."
The IDF said Ibrahim Alam also "took part in the murder of numerous Israeli civilians and in the abduction of Sergeant Shaked Dahan’s body to Hamas captivity."
"Additionally, Mu'tasem Muhammad Suleiman Salah, a terrorist in Hamas’ military wing, was eliminated," the IDF also said. "Recently, the terrorists advanced attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops and operated to restore Hamas’ capabilities, in systematic violation of the ceasefire. The terrorists were eliminated in order to remove the threat they posed."
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed Thursday that it launched a ballistic missile attack at an airport in Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.
The reported attack against King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh comes after the country said three people were killed and dozens were injured in similar recent incidents.
One person was killed and eight others were wounded in an earlier strike on King Khalid International Airport this week, Saudi civil aviation authorities said Wednesday.
A separate attack on Abha Regional Airport left two people dead and 28 injured.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this post.
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran's "spunk" is decreasing as oil exports are surging out of the Strait of Hormuz.
"Texas, as you probably heard, is now producing more oil than at any time in its history. And we're distributing that oil all over the world, because when that war ends, it's going to be very soon," the president told a crowd in San Antonio.
"They are a failed nation," Trump added about Iran. "They've got little spunk left, but not much, not much. We took out more oil out of the Hormuz Strait the last three nights than at any time in the history of the strait, took out more oil."
Oil prices remain elevated during the U.S.-Iran war and other conflicts in the Middle East, but the average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. has fallen over the last week, from $4.41 to $4.36, according to AAA's latest estimates.
President Donald Trump emphasized the need to defend American cities against potential Iranian aggression Wednesday, warning of catastrophic consequences if Tehran were to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“You want to see problems—and I said it the other day—let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit—you want to see a horror show?” Trump said in San Antonio, Texas.
“You want to see problems, let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles, and you want to see some bad things happen.”
“You want to see a country that would be in freefall,” Trump said, asserting that Tehran would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons.
“We're not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country. We're not letting that happen. And they'd use it, too. They'd use it. They would use it,” he added.
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
Live Coverage begins here