President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will be joined by a rabbi and participate in a yahrzeit candlelighting to mark the one year anniversary since Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7, the White House said.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will commemorate October 7 by planting a memorial tree on the grounds of the Vice President’s Residence in honor of the victims and deliver remarks, according to the White House.
Families of the American hostages will not be participating in the White House commemoration event.
Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old Israeli-American hostage Itay Chen whose body remains in Gaza, told The Jerusalem Post that as of Sunday evening, he had not heard anything from the White House or Biden administration regarding the October 7 anniversary.