Jewish group mourns 1 year since Israel-Hamas War began

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Tomorrow marks one year since Hamas launched a cross-border attack on Israel -- sparking the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War. A Jewish organization held a gathering Sunday to celebrate the Jewish New Year, but also reflect on the past year of war.

"We are here in grief and in mourning as we mark one year since the attacks on Oct. 7," said Ava Agree, a member of the Jewish Voice for Peace Steering Committee.

It's been a year that Av said has been devastating.

“Over the course of the last year, our hearts have broken every day as we've watched in horror as day after day our phones, our screens are flooded with images of dead children," said Ava.

According to the Associated Press, more than 42,000 people have been killed in the Israel-Hamas War. Over 40,000 of those deaths are Palestinians, and about 1,200 are Israeli's. They're rising numbers that many believe need to be stopped.

“Of course we mourn for the people lost on Oct. 7, we want the return of hostages but we also mourn for the Palestinian life lost," said Ava. “We are asking immediately that there be a U.S. arms embargo on the state of Israel.” 

While talks of a ceasefire have been lingering for months, Ava said the clock is ticking.

“Our president continue to say, we’re asking for a ceasefire, it's coming soon -- those words at this point are meaningless we've been saying that for months and the situation is only getting worse," said Ava.

Which is why chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace from across the country joined in Albany on Sunday. They performed traditional Jewish rituals including Tashlich, where people throw stones into the river; ridding them of last year's sins. Each tradition celebrates what Ava believes are the true values of Judaism.

“My religion teaches us that every life is precious and i continue to seek to work toward a world where that can be true," said Ava.