President Joe Biden on Saturday marked the sixth anniversary of a gunman’s deadly attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue and called out what he called a “horrific surge of anti-Semitism” amid the war in Gaza.

The 2018 attack claimed the lives of 11 worshipers from the Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life congregations that shared space in the synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. Two worshipers and five responding police officers were also injured in the attack, the deadliest act of anti-Semitism in US history.

Biden said in a statement that the attack “shattered families, pierced the heart of the Jewish community and struck at the soul of our nation.” But he said that in the years since, the Jewish community “has also shown the country how to courageously turn pain into purpose,” launching “a global initiative to counter hate and hate-fueled violence.”

Biden noted that the commemoration of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack comes weeks after the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack in Israel “during which Hamas killed more than 1,200 people, took 250 more hostages and committed horrific acts of sexual assault.”

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He said the trauma and loss of October 7 was compounded by “the appalling development of anti-Semitism against Jews in America and around the world.”

The attack sparked a war between Israel and the militant group Hamas and led to widespread destruction and civilian deaths in Gaza.

Biden said his administration is implementing a national strategy to combat anti-Semitism, including providing $1.2 billion for the security of nonprofit organizations such as synagogues and Jewish community centers and day schools. He also cited the Justice Department’s investigation and prosecution of anti-Semitic hate crimes and said his administration had “put colleges on notice that anti-Semitism is discrimination” and banned it under laws protecting civil rights.

Vice President Kamala Harris also cited a rise in anti-Semitism in a statement marking the anniversary of the Pittsburgh attack.

“I will always work to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish people in the United States and around the world, and I will always call out anti-Semitism whenever and wherever we see it,” she said.

The Pittsburgh shooter was sentenced to death last year after being convicted of 63 counts, including hate crimes resulting in death.

In June, ground was broken for a new complex at the Pittsburgh site, which will include a cultural center, sanctuary, educational center and museum, along with a memorial to the slain worshipers of three congregations.