The Brighton & Hove Jewish community will mark the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre with a special ceremony on Monday, days after a memorial for the victims was vandalised.

As Jewish community members in Brighton & Hove prepared for the emotionally fraught commemoration, police announced the arrest of a man in connection with the attack on the memorial in Palmeira Square park.

On Monday, Sussex Police said  a 58-year-old male suspect from Hove was arrested on suspicion of “racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage”. The suspect remains in police custody.

The incident did not deter plans for a commemorative service to be held in Palmeira Square however, where Brighton-based hostage campaigner Heidi Bachram said members of the Jewish community had been coming to pray and to remember the victims of October 7 for the past year.

From 3 to 6pm, the names of those murdered on October 7 were due to be read aloud at the memorail event and, at 6.30pm, there will be a special service that will include poems and words from hostage family members from the local area. A giant poster of all the names will be displayed and songs and prayers performed.

Adam Ma’anit, whose cousin Tsachi Idan was one of the roughly 240 people taken hostage on October 7 said: “Every day is October 7 for us and Tsachi’s family. We need the world to demand their release unconditionally. This is a humanitarian issue, not a political one.”

Hundreds of Jewish and non-Jewish people are expected to attend the event, which has been organised by the Palmeira Memorial Group, Sussex Jewish Representative Council and the BNJC (Jewish community centre).