Mamdani breaks silence on released Israeli hostages in statement that does not mention Trump

After facing backlash for remaining silent as Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza, Socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani finally broke his silence Monday afternoon.

“Today’s scenes of Israelis and Palestinians are deeply moving: Israeli hostages released and families reunited after years of fear, uncertainty and torture; the first days in Gaza without brutal Israeli bombing of Palestinians as families return to the rubble and loved ones are freed from detention,” Mamdani posted on X on Monday shortly after 4 p.m. EST in a message that did not mention President Donald Trump or acknowledge his role in the negotiations.

Mamdani then labeled the development as a “ray of hope” that the ceasefire “will be maintained” and that the “long and difficult reconstruction work can begin.”

“I also know that this news brings comfort to millions of New Yorkers who have felt the pain of recent years,” Mamdani said. “We have seen how our tax dollars have funded a genocide. The moral and human costs will be a lasting stain and require accountability and a real examination of our collective conscience and the policies of our government.”

MAMDANI CAUGHT ON CAMERA AND DRUNCHED FROM MANHATTAN SQUARE; PROTESTER DECLARES HIM AS ‘ANTISEMITE’

Mamdani’s lengthy post ended by saying that the “responsibility now lies” with those who “believe in peace.”

“Once aid is delivered, the injured are cared for and a lasting agreement is reached, we cannot look away,” Mamdani said. “We must work for a future based on justice, a future without occupation and apartheid, and for a world in which every person can live in safety and dignity.”

Mamdani’s message came about three hours after one of his opponents, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, called him out on social media for not commenting that morning when the hostages were released.

MEET MAMDANI’S RADICAL ADVICE CIRCLE INCLUDING COMMUNIST ACTIVIST AND ANTI-ISRAEL LAWYERS

A group of Hamas gunmen in Deir-el Balah are seen in central Gaza as twenty living Israeli hostages were released on October 13, 2025. (TPS-IL)

“It should not go unnoticed that @ZohrankMamdani – who still refuses to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the Intifada’ (widely understood to mean the death of the Jews) – has not yet commented on the release of the hostages,” Cuomo said. posted on X. “His silence speaks volumes.”

Both Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa released statements on social media earlier in the morning praising the release of the hostages, with Sliwa the only one to praise Trump by name.

MAMDANI SAYS COLBERT SHOW SHOCKED HIM WHEN PRODUCER TOOK ‘GAME’ TO DISCUSS THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before boarding Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog, left, looks on. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

In one CNN interview On Friday, Mamdani hinted that he was open to giving Trump credit.

“If the genocide ends, I think that is something to be praised, and if the hostages are returned,” Mamdani said. “These things together need to be done in tandem.”

Mamdani’s post quickly sparked critical responses, including from New York GOP councilwoman Inna Vernikov.

“SIGNIFICANTLY MISSING FROM THIS WORD SALAD: Any mention of HAMAS or the TERRORISTS who brought this upon themselves by killing and raping their way on September 7,” Vernikov posted on X. “You know, the same terrorists your wife glorified in her Instagram story? Those terrorists?’

Mamdani, who has been widely criticized for his comments and positions on Israel, raised money Sunday evening for a United Nations organization that employed October 7 terrorists, just hours before the last living Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity.

Trump celebrated “peace in the Middle East” after signing the historic peace deal that ended two years of fighting in Gaza.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

‘Finally we have peace in the US Middle East, and it is a very simple expression: peace in the Middle East,” Trump said during his speech in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, flanked by dozens of world leaders.

“We’ve been hearing about it for years, but no one thought it would ever get to this point. And now we’re here.”

Trump continued: “This is the day that people in this region and around the world have worked, strived, hoped and prayed. With the historic agreement we just signed, those prayers of millions have finally been answered. Together, we have accomplished the impossible.”

His comments came after Hamas released the last 20 surviving hostages on Monday as Israel withdrew from its frontline position in Gaza over the weekend.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign but did not immediately receive a response.

Anders Hagstrom and Morgan Phillips of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.