ReutersIn Tel Aviv, people gathered to support the families of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip
Israel held a ceremony to commemorate the victims of the genocide and abduction carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, against the backdrop of continuing fighting in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
A year after the attack, which killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military was “changing the security reality” in the region, saying such attacks were vowed to prevent it from happening again.
Some 42,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
As the commemoration day progressed, Israel announced it had intercepted more than 100 rockets fired by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as well as projectiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis and Gaza’s Hamas.
Rocket sirens continued to sound throughout the night in northern Israel, and several towns were declared closed military zones as Israel seeks to expand its ground offensive beyond the Lebanese border.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday morning that Hezbollah's logistics commander Suhail Hussein Husseini was killed in a “precise intelligence-based attack in the Beirut area” on Monday. Hezbollah has not commented.
According to the IDF, Husseini was responsible for budgeting and logistics for Hezbollah’s most sensitive projects, including war planning and other special operations.
The United States has said it supports targeting Lebanon’s Hezbollah, but is concerned that what is described as a limited Israeli operation could quickly escalate into a large-scale, long-term conflict.
And as American and Israeli officials discuss Israel’s response to last week’s unprecedented Iranian missile attack, CIA Director William Burns warns there is a “very real risk of further regional escalation” did.
Last October, Hamas militants in Gaza breached the border fence and rampaged through nearby Israeli villages, kibbutzim, military posts and the Nova music festival.
On Monday, families of hundreds of those killed at the festival and dozens of those taken hostage gathered at the scene early in the morning for the first memorial service of the day.
Holding photos of their loved ones, they listened to the last song played at the festival before Israeli President Isaac Herzog observed a minute’s silence at 6:29 a.m., when the attack began.
Reuters
Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in the October 7 attack.
Israel commemorates seven victims every October
Nearby communities were also attacked by Hamas militants and held small events.
Elsewhere, Netanyahu visited Jerusalem’s Iron Sword monument, which commemorates victims of Hamas attacks, and lit a candle “in memory of the hostages who fell in action.”
Israeli families gathered in Tel Aviv’s largest park for an event billed as a memorial service to replace the government’s official one.
Israel’s most popular singers gave emotional performances as images of the victims were shown on screen.
The stage was decorated with items symbolic of the attack, including burnt and damaged cars from the Nova Music Festival, and children’s bicycles and swings from the Beeri Kibbutz.
Outside Israel, US President Joe Biden joined other world leaders in condemning the “unspeakable brutality” of the Hamas attack a year ago.
He also expressed fear about the ensuing war, saying “too many civilians have suffered, too much.”
Mourners also gathered at vigils around the world, including Australia, South Africa, Germany and the United States.
In the UK, Sir Keir Starmer told the House of Commons that he supports Israel’s right to defend itself. But the British Prime Minister insisted there was no military solution to the current crisis and appealed to all parties to “stand down”.
Reuters
Smoke billows over Beirut’s southern suburbs after Israeli attack
But as the memorial service took place, broader conflict in the region intensified.
The Israeli military said Hezbollah fired more than 130 rockets across the border from Lebanon. Most were shot down, but some attacked the cities of Haifa and Tiberius.
Earlier, Hamas fired rockets from Gaza into Tel Aviv. The military announced that a ballistic missile was fired from Yemen toward Israel, but it was intercepted.
Israel carried out multiple airstrikes and ground invasions in Lebanon throughout the day.
The Israeli military announced it was expanding its operations against Hezbollah and warned residents of southern Lebanon not to use boats in the sea or rivers south of the Awari River.
Reuters
A displaced boy rests at a Beirut school that provides temporary shelter for families.
Three weeks of heavy Israeli and other attacks in Lebanon have killed more than 1,400 people and displaced another 1.2 million, Lebanese authorities say.
Hezbollah, the Shiite Islamist political, military and social organization that wields great power in Lebanon, has suffered a series of devastating blows in recent weeks, with most of its leaders and military officers killed. Despite this, he maintains a rebellious attitude.
The group asserted on Monday that it was “confident in our ability to resist Israeli aggression.”
The Israeli government, which has designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, is allowing tens of thousands of displaced people to safely return to their homes near the Lebanese border after a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the Gaza war. I promised.
Hostilities have steadily escalated since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after a deadly attack on southern Israel by its ally Hamas.
