Palestinian militants in Gaza and Lebanon fired waves of rockets into Israel as the nation mourned the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and set off a war that has engulfed Gaza and parts of Lebanon and threatened to ignite a wider regional conflict.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, said it had launched strikes on militant targets in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel, which has focused increasingly on Hezbollah militants in Lebanon in recent weeks, warned people in over a dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate and told residents and fishermen to clear away from a long stretch of Mediterranean coastline.
The Hamas-led attack last year saw fighters stream into Israel, attacking communities and security outposts and battering the reputation of Israel's vaunted military and intelligence services. Today, many of those communities are struggling to rebuild. Around 100 of some 250 hostages that militants took that day have not been released. About a third of those remaining are thought to be dead.
Much of Gaza is in ruins in the wake of Israel's assault, with more than 41,000 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians. It says more than half of those killed were women and children.
Hezbollah began launching rockets into Israel just after the Oct. 7 attack, in support of Hamas.
Here’s what to know:
The Israeli military warned that it would soon launch operations on Lebanon’s southern coast, warning residents to stay off beaches and fishermen off the sea for up to 60 kilometeres (35 miles) along the Mediterranean.
It gave no details on the operation, but Israeli forces have been carrying out intensified airstrikes across southern Lebanon and limited ground incursions near the border in a campaign against Hezbollah. On Monday, the military said, it struck over 120 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon within an hour. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike killed at least 10 firefighters on Monday, with more people still buried under the rubble.
Israel has widened warnings for people to evacuate parts of south Lebanon in recent days, as its forces continued their attacks. The warnings now include more than a dozen towns and villages, a provincial capital and the the coastal town where the U.N. peacekeeping mission is headquartered.
Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a post on X told residents to immediately flee north. “You are not allowed to head southward,” the statement read. “Any movement to the south puts your lives at risk.”
Lebanon’s government estimates that some 1.2 million people have been displaced in the fighting.
Israel says its aim is to weaken Hezbollah to allow displaced Israeli residents to move home. Hezbollah says it will stop firing rockets at Israel when there is a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, in solidarity with its ally Hamas.
The Israeli military said about 175 rockets were launched from Lebanon on northern Israel, injuring at least nine people and causing heavy damage. There were direct hits on highways and several homes, police said.
Hezbollah said that it carried out several rocket attacks including a “large salvo” on areas north of Haifa. It also said it targeted the edge of a Lebanese village where Israeli troops were positioned.
The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate areas near the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after a Hamas rocket attack into Israel. Hamas claimed the attack, which lightly wounded two women and caused minor damage. The military said the rockets were fired from around Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city.
Nearly the entire Gaza population of 2.3 million has has been displaced during the fighting, some of them many times. Hamas fighters, however, have managed to regroup after Israel's attacks.
On Sunday, the military reiterated warnings for the entire population of northern Gaza to flee south.
The Israeli military said it launched a wave of artillery and airstrikes overnight and into Monday to thwart what it said was an imminent attack. It said it targeted Hamas launch posts and underground militant infrastructure. Hamas, for its part, said it had attacked Israeli forces in Gaza.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot pleaded for cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon, saying France and its partners were “ready to work collectively for de-escalation and peace in the region.”
“After a year of war, the time for diplomacy has come,” Barrot said in Jerusalem. Barrot reiterated France’s commitment to Israel’s security as “unwavering,” but said “force alone cannot guarantee Israel’s security.”
Barrot’s comments came two days after French President Emmanuel Macron called for “a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza,” drawing strong criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
___
Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
http://accesswdun.com/article/2024/10/1266202