Chronicle: Israel-Gaza war year on - PHOTOS
Monday is the one-year anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack into Israel on Oct. 7 2023. Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups held rallies on the eve Israel hit Lebanon and Gaza with airstrikes on Sunday. Hezbollah rockets landed in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. Israelis are to mark the anniversary with vigils for those killed and captured. Critics of Israel and the U.S. are expected to call for an end to the war. Catch up with our World News podcast on Oct. 7
Here's a wrapup of the day so far.
After decades of intractable conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Hamas-led militants launched their largest-ever attack into Israel from Gaza shortly after dawn on October 7 2023.
The unprecedented assault took Israel by surprise, and left it shocked and traumatised. Particularly as it was launched on a Jewish religious holiday, Simchat Torah, and just after Israelis had finished commemorating the 50th anniversary of another war, that of October 1973, in which it had faced near-disaster after being attacked during the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur.
The Hamas attacks in the hours and days after Oct. 7 killed 1,200 people, and more than 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh singled out Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, leader of its military wing, as architects of the attack codenamed ‘Operation Al Aqsa Flood’ and said it was to punish Israel for imposing a blockade on the Gaza Strip, and in protest at the activities of right-wing Israelis on the Jerusalem holy site known to Muslims as Al Aqsa Mosque and to Jews as Temple Mount.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately launched an offensive in Gaza that has laid waste the densely populated coastal enclave and killed almost 42,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israel said its objective was to remove the threat to its citizens posed by Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States, the European Union and others. The conflict quickly spread farther afield, including to Lebanon, from which Iran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets into northern Israel, and drawing in other Iranian allies such as the Houthis in Yemen.
Last month Israel escalated its attacks on Hezbollah, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah and launching airstrikes across southern Lebanon and in Beirut.
Those airstrikes continued late into Sunday, the eve of the anniversary, when the Israeli military said its fighter jets struck targets in Beirut belonging to Hezbollah's Intelligence Headquarters and weapons storage facilities.
In turn, Hezbollah rockets launched late on Sunday got past Israeli air defence systems and landed in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, causing damage to buildings, police said. Israeli media reported 10 people wounded in rocket strikes in Haifa and the city of Tiberias.
Against this backdrop of continuing hostilities on multiple fronts, Israel, the Palestinians and both sides allies will mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack that escalated hostilities in the region.
Nova festival anniversary commemorations
Thousands of Israelis are expected to visit the Nova Music Festival memorial, the location of a rave party where Hamas killed 364 and kidnapped 44 partygoers and staff on the morning of October 7 2023.
They have started gathering to pay tribute and mourn the victims as Israel marks the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks. A memorial ceremony organised by family members will be held on the site.
From the Picture Archive: A year of war in Israel and Gaza
One year after Hamas gunmen broke out of Gaza to carry out the deadliest attack in Israel's history, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, Gaza lies in ruins and regional conflict has engulfed the Middle East.
alestinians break into the Israeli side of Israel-Gaza border fence after gunmen infiltrated areas of southern Israel, October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa
Smoke rises in the background as Hamas gunmen cruise the streets of Gaza in an Israeli military vehicle that was seized after they infiltrated areas of southern Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip, October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An aerial view shows damage caused following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, October 11, 2023. REUTERS/ Ilan Rosenberg/
Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in Gaza City, October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Saleh Salem
Personal belongings including a child's pram are seen on the road next to a car days after a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
A dove flies over the debris of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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