NYC mayoral debate: Mamdani, Cuomo, Sliwa face off | Live Updates

During an appearance on Fox News Channel earlier this week, Mamdani sidestepped a question about whether Hamas should lay down arms as part of a fragile truce that has paused the two-year Israel-Hamas war.

On Thursday he did not equivocate, saying, "Of course I believe that they should lay down their arms."

The comment came as Cuomo again tried to characterize Mamdani as dangerous to Jewish New Yorkers by highlighting his past reluctance to condemn use of the phrase "Globalize the intifada," which is seen by many Jews as a call to violence.

"Why wouldn't he condemn Hamas?" Cuomo said. "He still won't denounce 'Globalize the intifada,' which means kills all Jews."

Since the primary Mamdani has said he does not use the phrase and would discourage people from saying it.

But Sliwa said it wasn't enough.

"Jews don't trust that you are going to be there for them when they are the victims of antisemitic attacks," he said.

Mamdani accused Cuomo of discounting the city's Muslim community, claiming that it took losing to a Muslim candidate for Cuomo to step inside a mosque.

"It took me to get you to even see Muslims as part of this city," Mamdani said.

The president, who has threatened to arrest Mamdani, to deport him and even to take over the city if he wins, was invoked early and often.

Pressed on how they would handle Trump, Mamdani said he would stand up to him while also being willing to work with him on lowering costs and affordability.

Cuomo warned that if Mamdani wins, "It will be Mayor Trump."

"I'd like to work with you. I think we could do good things together. But No. 1, I will fight you every step of the way if you try to hurt New York," Cuomo pledged.

Sliwa warned that taking too contentious a tone against Trump would end up hurting the city.

"If you try to get tough with Trump," he said, "New Yorkers will suffer."

Mamdani came under attack straight out the gate, as Cuomo highlighted his relative lack of job experience.

Cuomo, stressing his own executive experience, said being mayor "is no job for on-the-job training"

"This is not a job for a first timer," he said.

Mamdani hit back, criticizing Cuomo's integrity and decision-making as the COVID-19 pandemic spread through nursing homes.

"What I don't have in experience, I make up for in integrity. What you don't have in integrity, you can never make up for in experience," he charged.

Mamdani's brand of economic populism - a laser focus on lowering the city's astronomical cost of living through the idea that government should do more to help the lower and middle classes instead of wealthy people - has generated buzz and excitement.

At the same time, the state assemblyman's calls to raise taxes on wealthy people and intense criticisms of the Israeli government's military actions in Gaza have unnerved some centrists and conservatives. That's where Cuomo's rebooted campaign sees its path to victory.

The former governor has painted Mamdani as a potentially dangerous leader who would lead the city into financial and social ruin, while casting himself as a competent manager who can handle its expansive bureaucracy and finances.

Moderators at Thursday night's debate asked the candidates to create one headline describing their accomplishments after a hypothetical first year in office.

Andrew Cuomo's was less of a headline, and more of a listed of accomplishments, including lower rent, lower crime, education scores up, more jobs and optimism high.

Curtis Sliwa's headline was "Curtis Sliwa exceeds all expectations."

Zohran Mamdani's headline was "Mamdani continues to take on Trump, delivers affordability agenda for New Yorkers."