Israel’s military carried out airstrikes on two fronts Monday, targeting Hamas positions across the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon as the country marked one year since a Hamas attack on southern Israel sparked a war that now threatens to engulf the entire region.
In Gaza, the targets included Hamas rocket-launching positions. Hamas said Monday it fired rockets at Tel Aviv, Israel’s second-largest city, and areas near several border crossings in southern Israel.
Israel reported air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and in central Israel in response to projectiles fired from Gaza.
Early Monday, the Israeli military told residents in four areas of the southern Gaza Strip to move to the so-called humanitarian area on the coast at al-Mawasi, saying terrorist actions by Hamas in that area would be met “with extreme force.” Residents of northern Gaza are also under evacuation orders, and the United Nations said those orders are putting pressure on more than 400,000 Palestinians to move to al-Mawasi, which is already overcrowded.
In southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said 100 of its jets struck more than 120 Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah sites in the country’s eastern Beqaa Valley were also targeted.
Monday evening, the IDF issued warnings to fishermen and other people in the area of the Awali River, banning them from the beach and the sea in that area and south of it “until further notice.” The river flows into the Mediterranean near the southern city of Sidon.
The Israeli military said its air force had carried out a “precision” strike in Beirut earlier Monday on what it said was Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters. Around 9:40 p.m. local time, the Arabic spokesperson of the IDF issued an evacuation order for residents of the capital’s southern suburbs, which have been targeted nightly for more than a week.
Hezbollah rockets hit the northern Israeli city of Haifa, where Israeli media said at least 10 people were injured. Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli military base south of Haifa.
Israel said its air force also successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen, where Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have stepped up their rocket fire toward the Jewish state in recent days.
Somber anniversary
Meanwhile, Israelis held somber ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel was “hurled into a critical battle, but we were not defeated” on October 7.
“We rallied together to defend our country, our homeland. We mustered immense mental strength,” he said. “We outlined the goals of the war, and we are achieving them: toppling the rule of Hamas; bringing all the hostages home, the living and the deceased alike. This is a sacred mission, and we will not stop until we complete it; eliminating any future threat from Gaza to Israel; and returning the residents of the south and the north safely to their homes."
In Washington, the White House said President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to offer his condolences. He and first lady Jill Biden marked the anniversary with a memorial candle lighting with a rabbi at the White House.
Biden said in a statement that October 7 will be remembered “as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day.”
“We will not stop working to achieve a cease-fire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, allows for a surge in humanitarian aid to ease the suffering on the ground, assures Israel’s security and ends this war,” Biden said.
Vice President Kamala Harris planted a memorial tree at her official residence for the victims of the attacks.
“We all must ensure nothing like the horrors of October 7 ever happen again,” she said in a statement. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza.”
An array of Republicans and Democrats from both houses of Congress issued statements reaffirming their support for Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel will ensure its people can return safely home and that everything possible will be done to ensure hostages held in Gaza return.
“Today more than ever, we carry a deep commitment to continue taking every measure necessary to defeat our enemies and to defend our homeland,” Gallant said in a statement.
In a phone call Sunday with Gallant, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s self-defense, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Austin “reiterated unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel’s security, a cease-fire in Gaza and a diplomatic resolution that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said.
In a video statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged holding on to hope amid bloodshed and division.
“It is time for the release of the hostages. Time to silence the guns. Time to stop the suffering that has engulfed the region. Time for peace, international law and justice,” he said. “The United Nations is fully committed to achieving those goals.”
At the U.N., Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon led a commemoration for the October 7 victims that was attended by diplomats and members of the Jewish community.
“This war was forced upon us, yet we are willing to pay the price,” Danon said. “We are willing to do what we must, regardless of the condemnations, regardless of the bias.”
That toll has been high. The IDF said Monday that 728 soldiers have been killed since October 7 in Gaza and now Lebanon. More than 4,500 have been injured.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people in their October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. They also took about 250 people hostage, with around 100 still being held and about one-third of those are believed to be dead.
Israel’s military campaign of air and ground attacks has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 97,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between militants and civilians but has said just more than half were women and children.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terror organizations by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and others.
VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer and VOA reporter Natasha Mozgovaya contributed to this report. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
