Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday that his country’s military had “completely transformed reality” in the year since Hamas’ October 7 attack, which has resulted in two wars.
Netanyahu promised troops that Israel “will win” as it battles militants in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and prepares to strike Iran, nearly a year after Palestinian Hamas militants launched an unprecedented onslaught that triggered the Gaza war.
In late September, Israel shifted its emphasis north, expanding its action against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which had been launching missiles across the border from Lebanon in support of Hamas for nearly a year.
“A year ago, we suffered a terrible blow. Over the past 12 months, we have completely transformed reality,” Netanyahu told troops during a visit to the Lebanon border, his office said.
“The whole world admires the blows you are delivering to our enemies, and I salute you”, he said. “Together, we will fight, and together we will win — with God’s help.”
In the Palestinian territory, Israel’s military said it had encircled the northern area of Jabaliya after indications Hamas was rebuilding despite nearly a year of devastating air strikes and fighting.
Rescuers said 17 people, including nine children, were killed on Sunday by Israeli air strikes on the area.
Netanyahu had vowed to “crush… and destroy” Hamas last October, but troops have returned to several areas across Gaza where they had previously conducted operations against Hamas, only to find militants regrouping.
Policewoman killed
As another strike slammed Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to call a truce.
Israel is on heightened alert ahead of the October 7 anniversary, which the military has warned could result in “attacks on the home front”.
A border policewoman was murdered and ten others injured at the major bus terminal in Beersheba, southern Israel, according to first responders. Police described it as a suspected “terrorist” incident and claimed the attacker was slain.
Iran stated on Sunday that it had devised a plan to counter any potential Israeli strike, before Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Iran that it may end up looking like Gaza or Beirut.
According to Lebanon’s official National News Agency, more than 30 attacks targeted Hezbollah’s south Beirut bastion overnight and into Sunday. According to shopkeeper Mehdi Zeiter, 60, they “were like an earthquake.”
According to the NNA, a gas station and a medical warehouse were both targeted.
“The night was quite violent. There were strikes everywhere. “They are not hitting military targets, but civilian ones,” Zeiter explained.
Israel’s military stated that it hit weapons storage sites and infrastructure while taking precautions “to mitigate the risk of harming civilians”.
AFPTV camera captured a large fireball above a residential neighborhood, followed by a tremendous bang and additional explosions. Even after morning, smoke was still rising from the site.
Despite the battle, Hezbollah resumed its strikes on Israel, claiming on Sunday that it had fired attack drones at a military base near the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
‘Ongoing threat’
Last year’s October 7 attack killed 1,205 people, the majority of them were civilians, according to an AFP calculation based on Israeli official data that include hostages died in captivity.
On Sunday, the IDF reported that rockets fired from northern Gaza had entered into Israel, with one intercepted and the remainder falling in open regions.
The army announced on Saturday that it has killed around 440 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon “from the ground and from the air” since Monday, when troops launched what it called targeted combat operations.
In 2021, Hezbollah claimed to have 100,000 combatants, while observers estimated that number to be closer to half.
Israel says it intends to allow tens of thousands of Israelis affected by nearly a year of Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel to return home.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog described Iran as a “ongoing threat” after Tehran, which supports armed organizations around the Middle East, launched over 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israeli murders of militant leaders such as Hezbollah chairman Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, have stated that Israel will reply to Iran’s missile onslaught, the majority of which was intercepted by the country’s advanced air defenses.
According to Tasnim news agency, Iran has drafted its own response plan in case of an Israeli attack.
According to a senior Hezbollah source, the group lost touch with Hashem Safieddine, who is widely regarded as its next leader, following air attacks in Beirut on Saturday.
The movement has yet to select a new leader since Israel assassinated Nasrallah late last month in a devastating strike in Lebanon’s capital.
Strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed more than 1,110 people since September 23, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Foreigners flee
Filippo Grandi, the president of the UN refugee agency, said Lebanon is “in a terrible crisis” and warned that “hundreds of thousands of people have been left destitute or displaced by Israeli air strikes.”
Lebanon’s Director General of Education, Imad Achkar, said on Sunday that Israel’s bombings have displaced 40% of the country’s 1.25 million schoolchildren.
Several countries, including Australia, the United States, Brazil, China, and Russia, have evacuated their nationals from Lebanon.
For months, US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a Gaza truce and secure the release of 97 hostages who were still being held.
Critics accuse Netanyahu of impeding efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and a deal to rescue hostages held by Hamas.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported on Sunday that an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir el-Balah killed 26 Palestinians. Israel claimed it had targeted Hamas militants.
Israel’s retaliatory military onslaught in Gaza has killed at least 41,870 people, the majority of them are civilians, according to numbers provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry and described as reliable by the UN.
Thousands of people turned up in London, Cape Town, Rabat, and other places to support Palestinians ahead of the October 7 anniversary.