Countries around the world commemorate the anniversary of Hamas attack on Israel

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Vigils, commemorations and acts of remembrance were planned across the world on Monday to mark one year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel as world leaders called for an end to antisemitism and the release of Israeli hostages.

Last year's surprise cross-border attack, which killed about 1,200 people, caught Israel unprepared on a major Jewish holiday, shattering Israelis’ sense of security and leaving many countries, already on edge over Russia's war in Ukraine, facing the prospect of another major conflict in the Middle East.

The nations of Europe, home to many Jewish and Muslim communities, have sought to tamp down both antisemitic and anti-Muslim sentiment in the wake of the Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent war against the militants in Gaza, which has killed over 41,000 people and displaced around 1.9 million in the embattled coastal territory.

The Vatican marked the anniversary of the attacks by taking up a collection for the people of Gaza and publishing a letter from Pope Francis to Catholics in the region, expressing his solidarity.

Francis made no mention of Israel, Hamas or the hostages in the letter dated Oct. 7. He referred to the “fuse of hatred” being ignited one year ago and the spiral of violence that has ensued, insisting that what is needed is dialogue and peace.

“I am with you, the people of Gaza, long embattled and in dire straits. You are in my thoughts and prayers daily,” he wrote.

After some comments that upset Israel early on in the conflict, Francis has usually tried to strike an even tone. But he recently suggested Israel was using disproportionate and “immoral” force in Lebanon and Gaza.

He said he was particularly close to those who have been forced to flee their homes to find refuge from bombing, to the mothers weeping over their dead children and those “who are afraid to look up for fear of fire raining down from the skies.”

The German chancellery in Berlin was adorned with a yellow ribbon commemorating the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas, around 100 of whom remain in captivity, with many of them feared dead.

The names of the people killed and kidnapped in the attack on Israel were read out in front of the Brandenburg Gate starting at 5:29 a.m. local time in Germany, when Hamas’ onslaught began a year ago.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said to Germany’s “dear friends in Israel” that “we feel with you … we stand beside you.”

But he also pointed to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and said “the daily experience of violence and hunger is not a basis on which good things can grow.”

Scholz said in an address to a conference in Hamburg that Germany is pressing for a cease-fire and the release of the hostages and “for a political process, even if it is further away than ever.” He said the aim must be a two-state solution that is only possible if a wider conflagration in the region is prevented, adding that Hezbollah and Iran must cease their attacks on Israel.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has voiced strong support for Israel, commemorated the Oct. 7 anniversary by visiting the main synagogue in Rome and reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself.

She denounced the “latent and rampant antisemitism” she said has arisen since the Hamas attack, citing in particular pro-Palestinian protests in Italy this past weekend, some of which turned violent.

While asserting Israel’s lights to live safely within its borders, Meloni insisted it respect international law and lamented the devastation unleashed by Israeli forces in Gaza. She said Palestinians in Gaza had been “victims twice over: first of Hamas’ cynicism, which uses them as human shields, and then of Israeli military operations.”

French President Emmanuel Macron took to social media Monday to mark the anniversary of the Hamas attacks. “The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity," he said.

“We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts," Macron wrote on the social media platform X. He was later expected to receive in Paris some of the family members of hostages held by Hamas.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot attended a memorial service at the site of the Nova music festival, in Re’im, Israel, where hundreds were killed. Speaking to the families of victims, he expressed France’s support in the face of “the worst antisemitic massacre in our history since the Holocaust.”

“The joyful dawn of what should have been a day of celebration was suddenly torn apart by unspeakable horror,” he said.

In Poland's capital, the Jewish community paid tribute to Alex Dancyg, a Polish-born Yad Vashem historian who was abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz on Oct. 7 and killed by Hamas. He was remembered as a man who worked for reconciliation and understanding between Poles and Jews, and between Israelis and Palestinians.

In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended a vigil in Melbourne, where he walked with members of the Jewish community and lawmakers from across party lines. Thousands attended the vigil.

Earlier in the morning, Albanese said the day carried “terrible pain,” and that his government “unequivocally” condemned Hamas’ actions.

“Since the atrocities of October 7, Jewish Australians have felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day, and as a nation we say never again,” he said. “We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred.”

In Sydney, opposition leader Peter Dutton — who has vehemently decried Australia’s acceptance of Palestinian refugees — arrived to cheers at a vigil also attended by thousands at which he reiterated his party’s support for Israel.

Dutton’s remarks to the crowd echoed those he made earlier Monday, in which he said the Oct. 7 attack “awoke and exposed an antisemitic rot afflicting Western democracies.”

“Israel has every right to defend its territory and its people from existential threats,” he said.

Hundreds of people gathered amid a heavy police presence Monday night at Sydney town hall for a vigil for Palestinian lives lost in the conflict. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters had rallied across Australia’s cities on Sunday.

In Pakistan's largest city of Karachi, school children took part in a rally on Monday organized by the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League party to protest Israeli airstrikes in the Middle East and show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza and Lebanon.

Japanese officials expressed condolences to the Israelis who lost family members in the Hamas attacks, renewing their condemnation of terrorism and demanding the immediate release of all hostages. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that Japan is seriously concerned about the continuing critical humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and urged all parties including Israel to comply with international humanitarian law and work toward a cease-fire.

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Diane Jeantet in Paris, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

Yuval Danzig, right, the son of a Polish-Israeli man kidnapped and killed by Hamas, helps to unveil a plaque honoring his father, Alex Dancyg, in the Jewish cemetery on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Yuval Danzig, left, the son of a Polish-Israeli man kidnapped and killed by Hamas, and Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich unveil a plaque honoring his father, Alex Dancyg, in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Yuval Danzig, right, the son of a Polish-Israeli man kidnapped and killed by Hamas, helps to unveil a plaque honoring his father, Alex Dancyg, in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

A wreath is brought to a plaque honoring Alex Dancyg, a Polish-Israeli man who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and later killed, in Warsaw's Jewish cemetery on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

School children take part in a rally organized by Pakistan Markazi Muslim League party, to protest against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza and Lebanon, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

School children take part in a rally organized by Pakistan Markazi Muslim League party, to protest against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza and Lebanon, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Members of the Jewish community gather at a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Members of the Jewish community wave electronic candles as they gather at a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Members of the Jewish community gather at a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Two women console each other after making a makeshift memorial as members of the Jewish community gather at a park to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Rabi Yehuda Teichtal speaks at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Survivor Alon Gat, Rabi Yehuda Teichtal and Berlin mayor Kai Wegner, centre from left, hold a candle-lighting ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

People embrace after lightning candles at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

People light candles at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A Yellow Ribbon displayed as the facade of the German Chancellor to show solidarity with Israel marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

People attend the reading the names of the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel during a commemoration to mark the first anniversary of the attack, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Candles and flowers are laid at the entrance of the synagogue to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Candles and flowers are laid at the entrance of the synagogue to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A man embraces a women at they attend the reading the names of the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel, during a commemoration to mark the first anniversary of the attack, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slipping in early trading on Wall Street as pressure rises from the bond market, where Treasury yields hit their highest levels since the summer. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% in early trading Monday, though it’s still close to its all-time high set a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 195 points, or 0.4%, from its own record set on Friday. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.4%. Treasury yields rose back above 4% as traders ratchet back forecasts for how deeply the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate. Crude oil prices rose again.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

World shares were mixed on Monday while oil prices pushed higher after the Israeli military said that projectiles fired from Gaza set off sirens in central Tel Aviv, as Israel marked a year since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

After a day of strong gains in Asia, shares fell in Europe. The CAC 40 in Paris edged 0.1% lower to 7,530.43. Germany's DAX lost 0.3% to 19,059.46 and the FTSE 100 in London was down 0.1% at 8,275.18.

The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.4%.

Asian shares logged strong gains after a surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report raised optimism about the economy, sparking a rally Friday on Wall Street.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.8% to 39,332.74 after the yen sank against the U.S. dollar. The Japanese currency has bounced on speculation over the central bank's plans for interest rates since Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office last week. Lower interest rates tend to boost prices of shares and other asset, and both Ishiba and the central bank governor suggested no hikes were likely soon.

Nintendo gained 4.4% following reports that a Saudi wealth fund was planning to increase its investment in the Kyoto, Japan-based video game maker.

In a policy speech on Friday, Ishiba said he wants to see salary increases that outpace inflation and that he will promote investment to create “a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution.” He promised economic support for low-income households and measures for regional revitalization and disaster resilience.

But he offered no major new initiatives, and his initial public support ratings are around 50% or lower, relatively low for a new leader, according to Japanese media. He plans to dissolve parliament on Wednesday for an election on Oct. 27.

After gaining briefly against the dollar, the yen fell back late last week. Early Monday, the dollar was trading at 148.34 yen, down from 148.72 late Friday. The euro rose to $1.0974 from $1.0967.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.6% to 23,099.78, and the Kospi in Seoul surged 1.6% to 2,610.38.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.8%.

Mainland Chinese markets reopen from a weeklong holiday on Tuesday, and the government said it plans to explain details of plans for economic stimulus at a morning news conference in Beijing. Before the Oct. 1 National Day holiday began, announcements of policies aimed at reviving the ailing property market pushed share benchmarks sharply higher and this week could bring more volatility.

“More fiscal stimulus to stabilize the property market and restructure local government debts, and structural reforms to address the over-capacity and deflation issues are needed to turn around the economy,” B of A Securities said in a research note, pointing to continued declines in home sales, housing prices and credit growth.

On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.9% and got close to its all-time high set on Monday. The Dow gained 0.8% and the Nasdaq climbed 1.2%.

Worries over tensions in the Middle East have pushed oil prices sharply higher as the world waits to see how Israel will respond to an Oct. 1 missile attack by Iran.

Monday's surprise cross-border barrage caught Israel unprepared on a major Jewish holiday, as the nation mourned the hundreds of victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the dozens of hostages still in captivity and the soldiers wounded or killed trying to save them.

After slight losses earlier in the day, U.S. benchmark crude oil was up $1.26 at $75.64 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, picked up $1.09 to $79.14 per barrel.

In Friday's report, the U.S. government said employers added 254,000 more jobs to their payrolls last month than they cut. That was an acceleration from August’s hiring pace of 159,000 and blew past economists’ forecasts.

Recent encouraging data on the economy have raised hopes that the job market will hold up after the Fed pressed the brakes on the economy through higher rates in order to stamp out high inflation.

The Fed has begun cutting interest rates and Friday’s jobs report was so strong traders are now forecasting it will not deliver another half-point interest rate cut before the end of the year after doing so in September.

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 24, 2024., 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - The entrance to the New York Stock Exchange at Wall and New Streets is shown on Oct. 2, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - Signs mark the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in the Financial District on Oct. 2, 2024, in New York. Trinity Church is in the background. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - A person stands near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)