Middle East updates: Israel marks one year since October 7

Hamas fired four rockets from Gaza toward southern Israel at 6:31 a.m. (0330 GMT) on Monday, according to the Israeli military, just after commemorations began for the October 7 attacks.

The Israeli military statement said that "four projectiles were identified crossing from the southern Gaza Strip."

"Three of the projectiles were intercepted by the IAF [Israeli Air Force] and a fallen projectile was identified in an open area," the statement added. No casualties or damage were reported.

According to the armed wing of Hamas, it had fired rockets into southern Israel at the Rafah crossing, Kerem Shalom crossing and Kibbutz Holit near the border with Gaza.

Monday's commemorative ceremony at the site of the Nova music festival went ahead without disruption, despite the rockets.

The IAF said it had responded by striking Hamas rocket launch sites and underground facilities "throughout the Gaza Strip."

"Furthermore, overnight, the IAF and IDF [Israel Defense Forces] artillery struck targets in the central Gaza Strip that posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area," it added.

Israel is commemorating the victims of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas militants, the deadliest in the country's history, which shocked the nation and triggered the war in Gaza and the broader Middle East region.

A series of memorials and rallies have been planned across the country.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog began the commemorations with mourning families at the site of the Nova music festival. It marks the start of a three-day memorial journey to the massacre locations.

At 6:30 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) — the exact hour Hamas launched its attack — the families of those killed at the music festival began gathering at the site where at least 370 revelers were gunned down and from where others were taken hostage.

At the same time, the families of hostages still held in Gaza — about 100, a third of whom are believed to be dead — gathered outside the Jerusalem residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stand during a two-minute siren.

They were replicating a custom from the most solemn dates on the Israeli calendar, Holocaust Remembrance and Memorial Day. Many hostage families have criticized Netanyahu for failing to secure the release of the hostages.

The German government's antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, has expressed concerns about the increasing trivialization of Islamists within the country.

In an interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper on Monday, he noted a significant shift in discourse since Hamas carried out its surprise attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

"After October 7, the floodgates were broken," Klein said, pointing out that discussions surrounding the Middle East conflict had become more radicalized, particularly at universities.

"Institutes have been occupied and people who have nothing at all to do with the Middle East conflict have been attacked," he pointed out, citing attacks against Jewish Germans.

Furthermore, Klein said there was a growing numbness within the general population regarding the issue of antisemitism. "The visible, shown solidarity with Israel is also diminishing."

Iran announced the resumption of air traffic after flight cancellations at some airports over "operational restrictions," state media reported.

Flights have been operational again since 11:00 p.m. (1930 GMT) Sunday and were being "carried out in accordance with the flight schedule," Jafar Yazarloo, spokesman for Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, was quoted as saying by the IRNA state news agency.

Iran on Tuesday launched around 200 missiles in its second direct attack on Israel.

Tehran said it was responding to the killing of Iran-aligned militant leaders in the region, along with a general in Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Ever since, Israel has said that it will respond to Iran's attack.

Israel's army chief said his country's forces had defeated the military wing of Hamas.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi made the remarks in a letter to troops ahead of the first anniversary of the October 7 attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian militant group.

"A year has passed, and we have defeated the military wing of Hamas... We have dealt a severe blow to Hezbollah, which has lost all of its senior leadership. We are not stopping," Halevi wrote.

"This is a long war, measured not only by capabilities but also by the willpower and perseverance over time," he added.

"This is a war for our right to be a free people in our land," Halevi wrote.

Halevi also noted that "October 7th is not only a day of remembrance but also a call for deep introspection" and "a recognition of our failures and a commitment to learning from them."

Germany, the European Union, the US and others classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Hezbollah said early Monday it had targeted an Israeli military base near the northern city of Haifa, the third attack on a military position in the area in one day.

Hezbollah fighters launched "a salvo of Fadi 1 rockets at the Carmel base south of Haifa," the Iran-backed group said in a statement.

Air raid sirens blared in Israel's north including the city of Haifa late Sunday night.

Earlier Sunday, the Lebanon-based militants said they carried out two attacks on another base also south of Haifa.

The group dedicated the attack to its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut last month.

Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite political party and militant group in Lebanon.

It is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries.

The EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

Israel launched fresh strikes in southern Beirut, official Lebanese media reported.

The attacks took place shortly after calls by Israel's army for residents to evacuate the Hezbollah stronghold.

"Enemy warplanes launched two strikes on the southern suburbs, the first targeted the Saint Therese area, and the second targeted the Burj al-Barajneh area," Lebanon's National News Agency said.

The aerial bombardment came less than a day after Israel hit Beirut's southern suburbs with more than 30 airstrikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country will achieve victory in its ongoing battles with militants in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

He also said Israel’s military “completely transformed reality” in the year since Hamas’ terror attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 others were taken hostage.

"A year ago, we suffered a terrible blow. Over the past 12 months, we have completely transformed reality," Netanyahu said during a visit to the Lebanon border, according to his office.

Israel's subsequent military offensive in Gaza following the October 7 attacks has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza.

There are also growing concerns that the conflict could escalate into a wider war in the region as Israel mounts a ground operation in Lebanon and vows to respond to a barrage of missiles fired by Iran this week.

sri/kb (AP, dpa, AFP, Reuters)