In Israel, it has been a year since the Hamas attack

The Israeli military said Monday that it had carried out airstrikes on Hamas militants in the central Gaza Strip, a year after a Hamas attack in southern Israel sparked a war that included fighting in Lebanon and concerns about a regional conflict.

The Israeli military also said it had struck targets of the militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon, including attacks on Beirut, parts of southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.

Hezbollah rockets hit the northern Israeli city of Haifa, where at least ten people were injured, according to Israeli media.

Hezbollah said it attacked an Israeli military base south of Haifa.

Ahead of Monday’s anniversary, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops in northern Israel on Sunday.

“A year ago we suffered a terrible blow,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office. “In the twelve months since then, we have fundamentally changed reality. The whole world is amazed at the blows you deal to our enemies. I greet you and say to you: you are the generation of victory.”

The White House announced that US President Joe Biden would mark the anniversary of the attacks on Monday by, among other things, lighting a candle.

Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people in their attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. They also took about 250 people hostage, about 100 of whom are still being held and about a third of them are presumed dead.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s military campaign of air and ground strikes has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and injured more than 97,000. The ministry did not say how many of the dead were militants, but said just over half were women and children.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terrorist organizations by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and others.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters