Israel marks one year since Hamas’ October 7 attack as the war rages on

RE’IM, Israel (AP) — Israelis held somber ceremonies Monday to mark one year since the deadliest attack in the country’s history, a Hamas-led raid that shattered the country’s sense of security and has continued indefinitely since Wars fought on two fronts are within sight.

Hamas marked the anniversary of its attack on October 7, 2023, by firing rockets into Tel Aviv, underscoring its resilience after a year of war and devastation in Gaza. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which began firing rockets at Israel on October 8 in support of its ally Hamas, fired more than 170 rockets despite its recent losses.

The conflict soon drew in the U.S. military, and troop levels there remain higher than normal to prevent a major war from breaking out.

A few weeks after the Hamas attack, on October 19, the Navy destroyer Carney became the first American warship to fire a salvo of drones and missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

This back and forth between the Houthis and the Navy continued almost daily in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman over the past year, and Navy ships also played a role in shooting down Iranian missiles fired at Israel on two occasions.

U.S. ground forces have also endured months of attacks from Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq, although the frequency of such attacks has decreased.

Nevertheless, in January, three US soldiers were killed in an attack on the Tower 22 base on Jordan’s border with Syria.

They are Sgt. Kennedy Sanders, Sgt. Breonna Moffett and Staff Sgt. William Rivers.

There is also the question of how long the US military – and especially the Navy – can continue to expend the limited resources in the region.

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to push Israel’s campaigns from all sides, the military bombed southern Lebanon on Monday in more than 120 strikes in an hour, saying it was targeting Hezbollah positions. An earlier attack killed at least 10 Lebanese firefighters, the latest of dozens of first responders killed in recent weeks, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

In a possible sign of expanding its campaign, the military said it would soon launch operations on Lebanon’s southern coast, urging residents to stay away from beaches and the sea along a 36-mile stretch along the Mediterranean Sea.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli troops shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in a refugee camp, Palestinian health authorities said. The military said it opened fire on Palestinians and threw stones at its forces.

A year after Hamas’ surprise cross-border attack, the war in Gaza rages on as Israel wages a new war against Hezbollah and has escalated its bombing campaign in Lebanon over the past three weeks. There is also a growing conflict with Iran – which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah – that threatens to plunge the region into an even more dangerous conflagration.

And within Israel, two key commemorations that day highlighted the country’s divisions. One was held by the government, the other in Tel Aviv by families of those killed on October 7 and by hostages still held in Gaza who refused to attend the official ceremony.

It was a sign of how Israelis’ trust in their leaders and military was shaken as militants stormed out of Gaza, catching the country off guard on a key Jewish holiday. The militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped another 250. About 100 hostages have not been returned, a third of whom are believed to be dead, and efforts for a ceasefire have stalled.

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No formal commemoration is planned in Gaza, where Israel’s onslaught since October 7 has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, left vast areas completely destroyed, most of the population driven from their homes and hunger rife.

At 6:31 a.m., four projectiles were fired from Gaza at the same communities that were attacked last year, without disrupting ceremonies there.

The military said another five rockets were fired from the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis toward central Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv. According to first responders, two women were slightly injured and minor damage was caused. The military said it hit the launch sites.

Hours later, sirens wailed a second time across central Israel as Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired a ballistic missile. The military said the missile was intercepted.

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Israel responded to the October 7 attack with one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in modern history.

“We have lost everything we have,” said Liyala al-Shanar, who fled her home in Gaza City. “We live in a tent that protects us neither from the winter cold nor from the summer heat.”

Hamas militants have repeatedly grouped up in areas where Israel has conducted major operations. On Sunday, Israeli forces surrounded the northern town of Jabaliya and launched another major operation there that the military said was aimed at rooting out militants.

There has been a surge in violence in the West Bank over the past year, including Israeli raids on cities targeting armed groups, increasing attacks by Palestinian militants and attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah has continued firing even after increased Israeli attacks killed many of its top commanders – including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah – and destroyed swathes of Lebanon.

Israel’s attacks have killed at least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, and forced 1.2 million from their homes. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday’s strike that killed the 10 firefighters hit the community in the southern city of Baraachit just as it was preparing for a deployment. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Last week, Israel launched a so-far limited ground operation across the border. The aim is to drive the militant group from its border so that tens of thousands of Israeli citizens can return home, it says.

Israel also vowed last week to respond to a ballistic missile attack that Iran said was in response to the killings of Nasrallah, top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and one of its own Revolutionary Guard generals.

Hezbollah said Monday it would continue its attacks until there is a ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel has been and remains “a deadly, aggressive cancer that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”