Middle East latest: Palestinian militants in Gaza fire rockets into Israel as it marks Oct. 7

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, without disrupting a nearby ceremony.

The fighting on the anniversary underscored militants’ resilience in the face of a devastating Israeli offensive in Gaza that has killed about 42,000 Palestinians, according to local medical officials, destroyed large areas and displaced around 90% of its population.

A year ago, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, which began firing rockets at Israel on Oct. 8, 2023. On Monday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country’s south, part of a wider bombardment, killed at least 10 firefighters. Hezbollah fired new barrages despite its recent losses.

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Here is the latest:

Australian opposition rejects Oct. 7 resolution over call for ceasefire

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s main opposition party refused to endorse a government motion in Parliament marking the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Isreal.

Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal Party, objected to the motion’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and a reference a need for lasting peace and security for all people in the region.

The spat suggests political differences over the conflicts in the Middle East will figure prominently in Australian general elections due by May next year.

Dutton said the motion should have focused on the 1,200 Israelis that Hamas killed on Oct. 7 last year.

Dutton said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should be condemned for failing to draft a motion worthy of bipartisan support.

“The prime minister is trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth and that is not something that we will support in relation to this debate,” Dutton said.

The motion was carried by the House of Representatives 85 votes to 54.

Dozens attend pro-Palestinian protest in Mexico city

MEXICO CITY — Dozens of protesters were met with car honks as pro-Palestinian groups made their way into the street for a candlelight vigil at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City.

Veronica Ivonne Hernandez Ramirez and Beatriz Vazquez Torres, academics from The National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico stood on the sidelines gathering signatures to support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

“We also ask that they (Mexico) sever ties with Israel indefinitely,” said Torres. “This is a genocide.”

Gathered on the street, participants lit candles and stood in 365 seconds of silence to commemorate the 365 days since Oct. 7. Kim Jakobsen, a 39-year-old Norwegian living in Mexico City, said he wanted to show his solidarity with Palestine. “I think it’s very important to show up on a day like today,” he said.

New strikes in central Gaza kill at least 21, including 5 children

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 21 people, including five children and two women, were killed in strikes in central Gaza on Monday night, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital, where the bodies were taken.

The strikes took place on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 militant attack in southern Israel that triggered the war between Israel and Hamas.

Two strikes hit houses in the Bureij refugee camp. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies along with about a dozen wounded, including several children.

Emergency responders said more people are thought to be under the rubble.

The Palestinian death toll in the war in Gaza is nearing 42,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and militants.

Israel's UN mission doesn't invite secretary-general to ceremony

UNITED NATIONS – Israel’s mission to the United Nations had an invitation-only guest list for its commemoration of Hamas’ attack in southern Israel a year ago and it didn’t include U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was banned from the country last week. No U.N. official was on the invite list.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters the situation with the secretary-general was “sensitive.” He asserted at the ceremony that the U.N. has failed Israel “time and time again,” including failing to condemn Hamas.

Several hundred ambassadors, diplomats, Jewish leaders and students attended the ceremony.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who declared Guterres “persona non grata” last week, vowed in a video message that Israel will respond “with strength and power” to Iran’s missile attack on Israel last week.

The Israeli ambassador said that “The days when we had to rely on foreign powers to protect us are over,” to applause.

US Sen. Mitch McConnell says Iran needs to ‘feel some pain’

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says Iran needs to “feel some pain” amid a widening conflict in the Middle East and as Israel is marking the one-year anniversary of the attack on by Hamas-led militants.

McConnell is criticizing President Joe Biden’s administration for not being tough enough on Iran, saying there should be “serious consequences” like stricter sanctions on the country’s energy sector or elsewhere as Iran has backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas.

“They have to feel some pain, and that’s the only way this stops,” McConnell said in an interview with The Associated Press. The only way to stop groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, he said, “is to get Iran to back off and quit funding them.”

McConnell’s comments come as he has disagreed with both presidential candidates on foreign policy and as he prepares to step down as his party’s leader after the November elections. Repeatedly evoking President Ronald Reagan’s vision of “peace through strength,” he has criticized Biden’s administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris, for not standing strongly enough with Israel amid calls for a ceasefire within the Democratic party. McConnell has also split from Donald Trump as the former president has declined to strongly back Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“Overall in the Western world, kind of a lack of confidence in American leadership,” McConnell said. “No matter who wins the presidential race, the kind of approach I am talking about is the only one that has a chance of working.”

Netanyahu says Israel ‘will continue to fight’ its enemies

OFAKIM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel “will continue to fight” against its enemies.

Netanyahu delivered a recorded message late Monday to a government memorial service marking the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

Israel responded to the attacks with a military offensive that has devastated Gaza and inflicted heavy losses on the Hamas militant group. U.S.-led cease-fire efforts have repeatedly faltered, and Israel has now turned its focus to a ground offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah militant groups.

“As long as the enemy threatens our existence and the peace of our country, we will continue to fight,” Netanyahu said. “As long as our hostages are in Gaza, we will continue to fight. We will not give up on any of them. I won’t give up.”

The government ceremony was prerecorded, and Netanyahu did not attend.

Families of people killed in the Oct. 7 attack, hostages and soldiers who died fighting Hamas held a separate ceremony earlier Monday, skipping the official ceremony in a show of anger against the government.

Nearly 900 Americans and their families have left Lebanon on flights, officials say

WASHINGTON — The State Department says that nearly 900 American citizens, green card holders and their families have now left Lebanon on U.S.-contracted flights since late September.

Another 150 Americans, legal permanent residents and immediate family left Beirut on Monday on a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

The U.S. has so far organized eight flights — most to Istanbul but at least one to Frankfurt, Germany — since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified at the end of last month.

Each of those flights, which cost $283 per person, has had a capacity of 300 passengers for a total of 2,400 seats, meaning that fewer than half of the available seats have been occupied.

Miller said about 8,500 Americans citizens, many of them dual U.S.-Lebanese nationals, have reached out to the U.S. embassy in Beirut for information about how to leave the country.

Relatives of hostages and those killed in the Oct. 7 attack gather for a service in Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV, Israel — Hundreds of relatives of hostages and people killed in the Oct. 7 attack have gathered for a memorial service in a central Tel Aviv park.

The gathering is one of two major memorial services marking the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack Monday.

Families of victims, angry over the government’s failure to protect them on Oct. 7 or to bring home dozens of hostages still held in Gaza, decided to hold their own ceremony, which was broadcast live on major Israeli TV stations.

The government planned a second ceremony later Monday evening. That ceremony was pre-recorded without an audience — apparently out of concern that it could be disrupted.

Tens of thousands of people had been expected to join the grieving families in Tel Aviv. But the event was scaled back and limited to about 3,200 people because of threats of missile fire. Shortly before it began, sirens warned of an incoming missile from Yemen, forcing people at the site to lie face down on the ground until it was intercepted.

The ceremony included performances by Israeli singers, emotional testimonies from survivors and a moment of silence where the crowd stood at attention. As the artists performed, many in the crowd sobbed or hugged one another. The remains of several destroyed cars of victims of the Hamas attack stood at the front of the stage.

The US and Israeli defense ministers are having regular discussions, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON — At the Pentagon on Monday, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is having regular discussions with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He said the conversations include what Israel’s next steps will be.

Noting that Gallant will be in the Pentagon to meet with Austin this week, he said the visit “provides the opportunity for ongoing discussions in more depth.” Austin, he said, will also continue to stress the importance of talking civilian safety into account.

Asked if the U.S. has gotten assurances from the Israelis that they will give the Biden administration a heads up as they conduct major operations, Ryder said the U.S. has been clear that “it’s helpful to be able to have awareness about activities in the region for several reasons. One, to ensure that we can protect Americans and U.S. forces throughout the region in terms of potential second, third order effects. But then also as we work to support the defense of Israel.”

Ryder would not comment on what the U.S. may or may not do if Israel strikes nuclear or other key targets in Iran. He said Austin agrees with President Joe Biden in opposition to strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.

He said the U.S. continues to work to prevent the conflict from expanding into a wider regional war. But he stressed that the U.S. supports Israel’s efforts to defend itself against Hamas, through operations in Gaza, and against Hezbollah, through strikes in Lebanon.

Israeli military warns people to stay off Lebanon's coast ahead of operations

BEIRUT — The Israeli military says it will soon launch operations on Lebanon’s southern coast, telling residents to stay off beaches and the sea.

In a statement late Monday, the Israeli army told fishermen and people using any kinds of boats not to sail along an area up to 40 kilometers (22 miles) north of the Israeli border.

It also said people should not be on the beaches along the Mediterranean coast from the Israeli border all the way north of the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon.

The army warned that people who go to the coast or use boats will be putting their lives in danger.

Hundreds gather in Prague to remember victims of the attack

PRAGUE — Hundreds of people with Israeli flags gathered at the Old Town Square at the heart of the Czech capital to honor the victims of Hamas’ attack against Israel one year ago.

“On this day, we don’t just mourn, but we’re also aware that it’s necessary to do everything to give such attacks no chance to happen again,” Petr Papousek, the head of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic, said in his address.

”Israel will always strive for the world without violence in which people live without fear of terror,” Papousek said.

He said that their gathering “reminds us that hope is stronger than fear and love is stronger that hate.”

French President Macron meets with the families of hostages and victims

PARIS -- French President Emmanuel Macron held meetings Monday with the families of two French nationals who are being held hostage in the Gaza Strip and families of victims of the Oct. 7 attacks living in France, Macron’s office said.

Macron said France will do “everything possible” to push for a cease-fire and an agreement that would allow the release of Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Kalderon, the French hostages, as a priority, the statement said.

Macron expressed “the nation’s compassion” toward those affected by the Oct. 7 attacks and told the families meeting at the Elysee presidential palace that France will stand by their side and continue to “fight tirelessly” against the rise of antisemitism.

A second flight leaves Beirut to take Brazilians home

RIO DE JANEIRO — The second repatriation flight organized by the Brazilian government to assist its nationals left Beirut on Monday, according to a statement from the Brazilian air force.

The plane carrying 227 Brazilians, including 49 children, will stop for fuel in Lisbon before heading to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport, where it is due to arrive Tuesday.

The plane took Lebanon medical and hospital supplies donated by Brazil, Brazil’s foreign ministry said Monday, adding that more will follow in future flights.

The first repatriation flight landed in Sao Paulo on Sunday. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was on site to greet those fleeing the violence.

About 21,000 Brazilians live in Lebanon, which is home to the largest community of Brazilians in the Middle East. Two Brazilian adolescents have been killed by Israeli bombardments in Lebanon.

In a separate statement, Brazil's foreign ministry called “for the immediate release of all hostages and for negotiations that lead to a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.”

US President Biden and the first lady mark the anniversary at the White House

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted a somber memorial ceremony at the White House Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The Bidens looked on as Rabbi Aaron Alexander of Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation recited the Jewish remembrance prayer for the more than 1,200 people, including dozens of Americans, killed that day, listing the towns, villages and festival site that were the scenes of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

The president then lit a lone memorial candle placed on a small table at the center of the Blue Room before they observed a moment of silence.

Earlier in the day, Biden spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the White House said.

Rocket fire from Lebanon targets Israel on a tense day

TEL AVIV, Israel — Some 175 rockets were launched from Lebanon on northern Israel on Monday, injuring a woman and causing heavy damage on a tense day marking a year since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 raid, the Israeli military said.

Seven other people were injured, one severely, when volleys of rockets hit the cities of Haifa and Tiberias late on Sunday, Israel’s rescue service said.

Police said the rocket fire on Monday caused direct hits on highways and several homes.

Hezbollah said that it carried out several rocket attacks on Monday including a “large salvo” on areas north of Haifa, and on the northern Israeli city of Karmiel and the town of Kfar Vradim.

It also said it fired rockets on the edge of the Lebanese village of Maroun El-Ras, where Israeli troops took positions inside a public garden.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said it conducted an extensive aerial operation in Lebanon on Monday, striking over 120 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon within an hour. It said the targets included sites that belong to the militant group’s Radwan Forces, missiles and rockets force, and an intelligence division.

Israeli military intercepts a ballistic missile from Yemen

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen that triggered sirens across central Israel for the second time on Monday.

There were no reports of injuries.

The sirens came as Israelis marked the anniversary of the Oc. 7 Hamas attack.

Earlier on Monday, rockets fired from Gaza set off sirens in Tel Aviv and several adjacent cities.

Vandals deface mural in Italy depicting survivor of Oct. 7

MILAN — The Antisemitism Observatory in Milan said the vandalism of a mural depicting a survivor of last year’s Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed some 1,200 people in Israel is an example of rising and “overpowering” antisemitism in Italy.

Researcher Stefano Gatti said the number of antisemitic incidents has risen to about 90 a week in the last year, from about 30 a week before. He said antisemitism has moved from the internet to the real world, and has become more “socially acceptable” as a protest against Israel’s assault in Gaza.

They include graffiti, insults, acts of intimidation and aggression, that so far have not translated into cases of bodily harm.

The mural vandalized on Monday by AleXsandro Palombo depicted a survivor, Vlada Patapov, escaping the Hamas attack. Vandals erased the figure’s head and legs from the mural near Milan’s state university.

Political feuds divide Congress over how closely to stand by Israel

WASHINGTON — There were some bipartisan efforts in the U.S. Congress to commemorate the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, but the anniversary also touched on political feuds raging over how closely the U.S. should stand by Israel.

Republicans have pushed steadfast support for Israel even amid its devastating campaign into Gaza. Earlier this year, they heartily welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Capitol for a speech.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday called for the U.S. to “recommit to stand with Israel in its righteous fight.”

He also said that the Hamas attack that triggered the war a year ago had drawn antisemitism “out of the shadows” against Jewish communities around the world.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, was expected to speak later Monday at an event for the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Democrats, meanwhile, marked the day with statements of condolence for the victims of the Oct. 7 attack, but were divided in their continued support for Israeli aggressions. The left-wing of the party has become increasingly critical of Israel’s retaliatory attack that left Gaza in ruins and killed over 41,000 people.

“Instead of securing the release of the hostages, however, Prime Minister Netanyahu has unleashed unthinkable violence on innocent civilians in Gaza,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Ma., in a statement. “More than a million Palestinians are facing starvation. We see videos of dead children held in the arms of their parents. Violence is escalating throughout the region, including most recently in Lebanon, threatening even more human suffering.”

US Treasury sanctions 3 people for helping bankroll Hamas

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury on Monday sanctioned three people in Europe, a charity group and a bank in Gaza, all accused of helping to bankroll militant group Hamas.

Treasury says Hamas and its affiliates raise funds through sham charities and as of this year, the militant Palestinian group may have received as much as $10 million a month through such donations.

Included in the sanctions: Mohammad Hannoun, an Italy-based Hamas member and his Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People; Majed al-Zeer, a senior Hamas representative in Germany and Adel Doughman, who is in charge of Hamas activity in Austria. Additionally, Al-Intaj, an unlicensed Hamas-run bank in Gaza was sanctioned for allegedly providing services to Hamas.

“As we mark one year since Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, Treasury will continue relentlessly degrading the ability of Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies to finance their operations and carry out additional violent acts,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

Israeli defense minister will hold talks in Washington

WASHINGTON -- Israel’s defense minister is to travel to Washington this week for talks at the Pentagon.

The visit by Yoav Gallant comes at a sensitive time in the yearlong Mideast conflict.

Israel has vowed to attack Iran following an intense Iranian missile barrage last week. Such an attack could rattle international oil markets and potentially draw in American forces in the region. Israel has also been expanding a ground offensive against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

The Pentagon’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, announced the visit on the platform X, saying that Gallant and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would discuss “ongoing Middle East security developments.”

Gallant’s office confirmed the scheduled visit but gave no further details.

A Lebanese mountain village mourns the dead in an airstrike

QMATIYEH, Lebanon — A village in the mountains southeast of Beirut was in shock after an Israeli airstrike demolished a residential building and partly destroyed another, killing seven people, including three children.

Hadi Zahwe, a resident of the area, told reporters that the strike on Sunday was “terrifying.”

“There were children killed, there were children’s body parts,” he said. “This enemy is targeting civilian women and children.”

Israel has carried out a widening aerial bombardment of many parts of southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs over the past two weeks, targeting what it said were Hezbollah militants and weapons. It was not clear what the intended target was in Sunday’s strike, which was the first one to hit the area.

Mahmoud Nasr Eldin, the town’s deputy mayor, said the village contains “no security or military centers.”

”“There’s nothing in Qmatiyeh that they’re looking for — it’s a safe area,” he said. “We welcomed around 15,000 internally displaced people. They are our people, they ran away from their villages and came to get protection here.”

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy is fatally shot in the West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli troops shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy in the central West Bank Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The boy, Hatem Ghaith, was fatally shot in the stomach at the Qalandiya refugee camp, the ministry said.

Commenting on the shooting, the Israeli army said its forces opened fire at rioters who were hurling rocks at troops operating in the area.

According to Wafa, the official Palestinian new agency, the shooting occurred during an Israeli military raid on the camp.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war a year ago, violence has surged in the occupied West Bank, where over 700 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to the Health Ministry.

Netanyahu says Israel is waging a ‘war of resurrection’

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel was fighting a “war of resurrection” and would continue until achieving its goals, as Israelis marked the anniversary of the Hamas attack.

“This is the war of our existence — the ‘war of resurrection.’ This is what I would like to officially call the war,” Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting.

His comment provoked a response from a group representing the families of the hostages held in Gaza, who said they wished to “remind the prime minister that there is and will be no resurrection without the return of all the hostages.”

In a statement earlier, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would keep fighting until the “living and dead” hostages were returned, Hamas is overthrown in Gaza and residents of the country’s north and south could go back to their homes.

“Since that black day, we are under attack on seven fronts,” Netanyahu said, referring to Oct. 7, 2023. He said counterattacking Iranian-backed groups “is a necessary condition for securing our future.”

French foreign minister on a visit to Israel pleads for a cease-fire

PARIS — French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Monday pleaded in favor of a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, saying that 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. He earlier took part in a memorial service at the site of the Nova music festival, where about 1,200 people were killed and some 250 were taken hostage in Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

He said he had held multiple meetings while touring the region in recent days, including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan.

Barrot reiterated France’s commitment to Israel’s security as “unwavering,” but said “force alone cannot guarantee Israel’s security.”

Barrot said that a two-state solution is “the only one that guarantees a just and lasting peace.”

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.

Both leaders spoke over the phone on Sunday. Macron’s office said the French leader told Netanyahu that arms deliveries, the prolongation of the war in Gaza and its extension to Lebanon will not produce security for either Israelis or others living in the region.

“We must be consistent,” Barrot said on Monday. “We cannot ask for a cease-fire while arming the belligerents.”

Barrot announced that France will hold in a few days an international conference in support of Lebanon's army and to help strengthen its institutions.

Swedish and Czech prime ministers condemn Hamas' attack a year ago

STOCKHOLM — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Monday that Hamas' attack on Israel a year ago was “the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust was committed.”

Kristersson said the attack also “led to an escalated conflict in the Middle East that is still ongoing, with tens of thousands of civilian casualties and enormous suffering.”

Kristersson called for a cease-fire and the release of hostages, a de-escalation in the region and an increased humanitarian access.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala reiterated his country’s support for Israel on the anniversary of the attack by Hamas.

“A few days ago, Israel was attacked again by Iran. Again, unfortunately, anti-Semitism in various forms is also on the rise,” Fiala wrote on X.

“Tensions in the Middle East bring suffering to many people. However, terrorist organizations will not bring peace and a dignified life to people there. Israel defends its existence, it is repeatedly attacked and must have the right to defend itself. Therefore, on the day of this tragic anniversary, I repeat: The Czech Republic stands by Israel!”

Erdogan condemns Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack to condemn Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Today, I remember with sorrow the tens of thousands of people that the murderous Israeli government has massacred since Oct. 7,” Erdogan said in a message posted on X. “I convey my most heartfelt condolences to my brothers from Gaza, Palestine, and Lebanon.”

An outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza and more recently the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Erdogan said: “Israel’s long-standing policy of genocide, occupation, and invasion must finally come to an end.”

He has praised Hamas previously as a “liberation group.” Erdogan on Monday made no mention of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, in which the militants killed about 1,200 people and dragged some 250 hostages back to Gaza. The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population.

“Israel will sooner or later pay the price for this genocide, which it has been implementing for a year and which is still continuing,” Erdogan wrote. “Just as Hitler was stopped by a joint alliance of humanity, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his killer network will be stopped in the same way.”

Pope Francis refers to the ‘fuse of hatred’ lit a year ago

ROME — The Vatican marked the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel by taking up a collection for the people of Gaza and publishing a letter form Pope Francis to Catholics in the region expressing his solidarity.

Francis made no mention of Israel, Hamas or hostages in the letter dated Oct. 7 and addressed to Catholics in the Middle East, especially in Gaza. He referred to the “fuse of hatred” being lit one year ago, and the spiral of violence that had ensued, in insisting that what is needed is dialogue and peace.

After some comments that upset Israel early on in the conflict, Francis has usually tried to strike an even tone, often referring to Palestinians and Israel in his frequent appeals for peace. But he recently suggested Israel was using disproportionate and “immoral” force in Lebanon and Gaza.

And on the Oct. 7 anniversary, Francis spoke in general terms to people of all religious confessions in the region, thanking Christians for staying in their historic lands and directing himself in a particular way to the people of Gaza.

“I am close to you, I am with you. I am with you, the people of Gaza, long embattled and in dire straits. You are in my thoughts and prayers daily,” he wrote.

Francis said he was particularly close to those who have been forced to flee their homes to find refuge from bombing; to the mothers weeping over their dead children and those “who are afraid to look up for fear of fire raining down from the skies.”

Francis has called for a day of fasting and prayer on Monday, and his chief almsgiver announced he was taking up a collection from participants in Francis’ big meeting of bishops at the Vatican this week.

He urged donors to be particularly generous, saying the proceeds of the fundraising drive would go straight to the Catholic parish in Gaza, where Francis calls every day.

At least 10 Lebanese firefighters killed in the country's south

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed at least 10 firefighters on Monday.

It said more people were buried under the rubble and the death toll may rise.

The ministry said the firefighters were in a municipality building in the town of Baraachit that was hit as they prepared to embark on a rescue mission.

Biden and Harris condemn Hamas on the attack anniversary and call for a cease-fire

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Hamas on the anniversary of the militant group’s attack on Israel, while reiterating their administration’s commitment to cementing cease-fire deals to end fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.

“On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day,” Biden said in a statement.

The president said that he thinks every day of the more than 100 hostages still in captivity and their families. He vowed that his administration “will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely.”

Biden added that “history will also remember October 7th as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

“It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people,” Harris said. “And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination.”

Israeli military warns dozens of towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate

BEIRUT — The Israeli military Monday warned people in over a dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate, including the coastal town where the U.N. peacekeeping mission is headquartered.

Israeli evacuation warnings in recent days have expanded to include a provincial capital, as troops continue their ground incursion backed by intense airstrikes.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, is headquartered in Naqoura, not far from the coastal city of Tyre.

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 cash-strapped government estimates that some 1.2 million people have been displaced in the fighting and it's struggling to support them.

Israel says its aim is to weaken Hezbollah to allow its displaced residents to move back to northern Israel. Hezbollah maintains that it will stop firing rockets at Israel when there is a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, in solidarity with its ally Hamas.

Israeli military orders an evacuation in southern Gaza after Hamas' rocket attack

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate areas near the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv.

The military had also ordered an evacuation of the areas east of Khan Younis earlier in the war when it sent ground troops into the territory’s second largest city.

The latest orders on Monday came after a barrage of five rockets triggered air raid sirens in central Israel, lightly wounded two women and caused minor damage. The military said the rockets were fired from the area of Khan Younis.

Hamas claimed the attack, which came as Israelis marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza that triggered the war.

On Sunday, the military reiterated warnings for the entire population of northern Gaza to flee south. Those warnings date back to the early weeks of the war, when Israeli forces sealed off the north and launched heavy operations there.

A year of war has inflicted heavy losses on Hamas, but its fighters have repeatedly regrouped in areas where Israel has carried out large operations.

Netanyahu addresses an Oct. 7 memorial

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “arose as a nation as lions” following the Oct. 7 attack a year ago.

“We remember our fallen, our hostages — whom we are committed to return — our heroes who fell in defense of our homeland and country. We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we arose as a nation as lions,” Netanyahu said at a memorial commemorating the anniversary of the attack.

He visited the memorial in Jerusalem for civilians, first responders and soldiers killed in the Hamas-led attack and the war it ignited. He spoke alongside the mayor of Jerusalem as the two held a small tribute at an event that appeared closed to the public.

Netanyahu has faced heavy criticism for security lapses that allowed the attack to unfold and mass protests over his failure to return some 100 hostages still held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.

The attack one year ago killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel, mostly civilians. Palestinian militants dragged some 250 hostages back to Gaza. The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population.

Nearly 700 Americans have left Lebanon

WASHINGTON — The State Department says nearly 700 American citizens, green card holders and family members have now left Lebanon aboard U.S.-contracted planes since late September.

The department said Monday that about 90 passengers — less than a third of the planes 300-person capacity — departed Beirut for Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday on the latest flight.

Hundreds of other Americans have left Lebanon aboard regularly scheduled commercial flights since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified.

The department said it has made more than 2,900 seats available for Americans on those flights.

Jordan's foreign minister criticizes Israel's war with Hezbollah

BEIRUT — Jordan’s top diplomat on Monday slammed Israel’s war with the militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon, saying it is pushing the Middle East into the “abyss of full-scale regional war.”

“We are facing a disaster and a dangerous escalation that threatens the region,” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. “Israel bears responsibility of this aggression, the escalation in the region, and any new escalation that the region faces.”

He spoke in a news conference following a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut.

Safadi said that Jordan backs the Lebanese government’s initiative to elect a new president and commitment to implement the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended Israel’s last war with Hezbollah in 2006, and that would keep southern Lebanon exclusively under the control of the Lebanese military and U.N. peacekeepers.

He added that Jordan, like Lebanon, backed an initiative by the United States and France for a three-week cease-fire in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, as the region braces for an Israeli retaliation for Iran's missile attack, Safadi said Jordan rejects either country using its airspace in their tit-for-tat hostitilies.

“We will not a battlefield for anyone,” he said. “We made this message clear to Iran and to Israel as well.”

Australian prime minister attends a vigil in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended a vigil commemorating the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and walked in Melbourne with members of the Jewish community and lawmakers from across party lines.

Albanese was not expected to speak at the vigil, attended by thousands. In a statement, he said the day carried “terrible pain” and his government “unequivocally” condemned Hamas’ actions.

“Since the atrocities of October 7, Jewish Australians have felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day -- and as a nation we say never again,” he said.

“We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred. There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith,” Albanese said. He acknowledged the “devastating” loss of civilian lives since Oct. 7.

Hundreds of people gathered Monday night at Sydney town hall for a vigil for Palestinian lives lost in the conflict amid a heavy police presence. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters had rallied across Australia’s cities on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the first of two repatriation flights organized by the Australian government to transport Australians from Lebanon touched down in Sydney on Monday evening with nearly 350 people on board.

Kibbutz Be'eri commemorates the Oct. 7 attack

KIBBUTZ BE’ERI, Israel — Members of Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities during the Oct. 7 attack, gathered amid the burned ruins of their homes and demanded an immediate return of the hostages during a memorial and rally on Monday.

More than 95 people were killed there and 30 were taken hostage on Oct. 7, according to the community’s spokesperson. Some of the women and children from the kibbutz were released in a cease-fire deal in November, but 10 hostages from Be’eri remain in captivity. Israel believes most of them are no longer alive.

On Monday, the community marched silently through the streets of the kibbutz bearing signs of the hostages before gathering for a rally, unfurling a massive flag with the words “Be’eri cannot heal until everyone is home.”

Ella Ben-Ami, whose father Ohad Ben-Ami was kidnapped from Be’eri, addressed the crowd and demanded the government of Israel bring her father home.

She said she continues to take solace from the video of his kidnapping, when he stands tall and proud, as if he knew he was being filmed, to broadcast a message to his family that he would be OK.

Many people at Be’eri were dreading the anniversary, which felt like an “impossible” amount of time, she said. “But then I stop for a moment I think that my father woke up today to count a year in captivity, a year!” she said.

Meloni visits the Rome synagogue

ROME — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has voiced strong support for Israel, commemorated the Oct. 7 anniversary by visiting the main synagogue in Rome and reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself.

Meloni also denounced the “latent and rampant antisemitism” that has arisen in the year since the Hamas attacks, citing in particular pro-Palestinian protests in Italy over the weekend, some of which turned violent.

While asserting Israel’s lights to live safely within its borders, she insisted that it respect international law and lamented the devastation unleashed by Israeli forces in Gaza. She said Palestinians in Gaza had been “victims twice over: first of Hamas’ cynicism, which uses them as human shields, and then of Israeli military operations.”

As the current president of the Group of Seven, Italy will continue to work for an immediate cease-fire, “the release of Israeli hostages and the stabilization of the Israeli-Lebanese border through the full implementation of U.N. resolutions,” Meloni said.

Since coming to office in 2022, Meloni has taken several initiatives to show her strong support for Italy’s Jewish community and Israel. Her Brothers of Italy party has roots in the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, or MSI, which was founded in 1946 by sympathizers of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Hamas fires rockets from Gaza, setting off sirens in central Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said on Monday that projectiles fired from Gaza set off sirens in central Tel Aviv, as Israel marks a year to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The sirens came as Israelis were marking the anniversary to the deadliest attack in their country’s history. That attack one year ago began with a volley of rockets from Gaza.

Israeli strikes hit locations used by Hamas-run police in central Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes hit two makeshift points used by Hamas-run police at a hospital in central Gaza, wounding a journalist. There were no police present at the sites when they were hit early Monday.

Ali al-Attar, a journalist working for Al Jazeera, was hit by shrapnel while he was inside a tent used by reporters nearby, according to an Associated Press journalist.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, operated a police force numbering in the tens of thousands before the war. They have adopted a low profile after being repeatedly targeted by Israeli strikes but still maintain control on the ground in Gaza.

Lebanon's Hezbollah group pledges to keep fighting Israel

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Hezbollah militant group on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to support Hamas by fighting Israel along Lebanon's southern border.

The statement came a year after its allies from the Palestinian Hamas group staged a surprise attack into southern Israel, setting off the war, and amid ongoing intense Israeli airstrikes and a ground incursion into Lebanon.

Hezbollah maintains that it will stop its attacks if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, and although its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed. Large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon have been targeted in Israeli airstrikes.

“We are confident, God willing, in the ability of our resistance to repel the aggression, and in our great and resistant people to be patient, steadfast, and endure until this calamity is removed,” Hezbollah said.

The Lebanese government estimates that some 1.2 million people in Lebanon have been displaced, mostly during the escalations less than a month ago.

Hezbollah also praised Iran and other Tehran-backed groups in the region, notably Yemen's Houthis and Iraqi Shiite militias for their attacks on Israel.

Families gather across southern Israel to mark anniversary of Oct. 7 attack

BE’ERI, Israel — Across southern Israel on Monday, families gathered in spots where their loved ones were killed during Hamas’ attack, marking a year since the assault that sparked the war in Gaza.

They crowded into roadside bomb shelters that became death traps when people seeking shelter from Hamas rockets and militants were sprayed with bullets or struck by grenades.

People were also visiting spots on the side of a main road marked with memorials.

In Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities struck in Hamas’ attack, where roughly 100 residents were killed and 30 kidnapped on Oct. 7, hundreds marched silently holding signs bearing photos of people still being held captive in Gaza. They held a rally in front of homes destroyed in the attack.

French President Macron says pain of Oct. 7 ‘as vivid as it was a year ago’

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron took to social media on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary since Hamas’ attack on Israel.

“The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity,” Macron said on X. “We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was in Israel for the anniversary and attended a memorial service at the site of the Nova music festival where hundreds were killed in Hamas’ attack.

Barrot, talking to the families of victims, pledged France’s support in the face of “the worst anti-Semitic massacre in our history since the Holocaust.”

“The joyful dawn of what should have been a day of celebration was suddenly torn apart by unspeakable horror,” he said. “France mourns alongside Israel our 48 compatriots victims of barbarism.”

Barrot, who is expected to speak with his counterpart Israel Katz later Monday, said that Macron will also meet in Paris with family members of Israelis held hostage today.

Japan expresses condolences on anniversary of Hamas attack

TOKYO — Japan has expressed its condolences to families of victims on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and demanded the immediate release of hostages.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday that Japan is seriously concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip amid continued fighting, the large number of civilian casualties and the ongoing security threats to both Israeli and Palestinian people.

“Japan continues to urge all parties including Israel to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, and strongly urges them to steadily work toward realization of a cease-fire,” Hayashi said.

He added that Japan strongly supports mediation efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar in achieving negotiations for the release of the hostages and a cease-fire.

Group representing families of hostages announces death of a captive

TEL AVIV, Israel — A group representing the families of Israeli hostages announced on Monday the death of a captive whose body is still being held in Gaza.

The Hostages and Families Forum said Idan Shtivi, 28, was captured from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7. He was thought to have been taken alive.

Israeli media reported that he was killed that day and his body was taken into Gaza.

It was not immediately clear how Shtivi’s death became apparent, but in previous such announcements, the Israeli military has discovered evidence indicating a hostage’s death.

The announcement of Shtivi’s death comes as Israelis are marking one year since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, where militants killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others. About 100 remain in captivity, although more than a third of those are said to be dead.

Hundreds gather at Nova music festival site to remember Oct. 7 victims

RE’IM, Israel — Hundreds of families and friends of people killed at the Nova music festival gathered Monday at the site of the attack, where nearly 400 were gunned down during Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault.

Families gathered around photos of their loved ones, which were arranged in a semicircle around what was the DJ stage. Many lit candles and added mementos or photos, crying and embracing. Overhead, army helicopters circled and constant booms echoed across the area, causing many to flinch.

“We can’t understand how a year has passed,” said Shimon Busika, whose son, Yarden, 25, was killed at the festival. “It’s the most natural place to be, to be here for this moment of silence,” he said.

Busika said it took them a long time, piecing together testimony from other survivors, to understand what happened in Yarden’s last moments. They now know he was killed around 9:20 near a yellow container at the festival where many others were killed, and they will hold a second minute of silence there at the moment he was killed.

The last sounds of the trance track that was playing at the Nova site on Oct. 7 one year ago stopped abruptly, as hundreds of family members and friends of the more than 300 victims stood in a moment of silence. One woman’s piercing wail broke the silence as booms echoed from the fighting in Gaza, just a few kilometers (miles) away.

20 Indonesians who were evacuated from Lebanon arrive in Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Twenty Indonesian nationals and a Lebanese evacuated from Lebanon arrived in Jakarta on a commercial flight early Monday and will likely be followed by 20 more in the afternoon, officials said.

President Joko Widodo has called to prioritize the evacuation of Indonesians in Lebanon as hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalate and fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East grow.

“I have directed the foreign affairs minister to take immediate action to ensure the safety and protection of our citizens and expedite their evacuation,” Widodo said last week.

Indonesia’s Embassy in Beirut had prepared evacuation procedures for citizens as part of its contingency planning since August. The Embassy evacuated 25 Indonesian citizens who returned safely to Indonesia last month, said Judha Nugraha, Director of Indonesian Citizen Protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

There are 116 registered Indonesian citizens in Lebanon, most of them students, migrant workers and people married to Lebanese nationals. Many of them have chosen to remain there for various reasons, Nugraha said.

Australian PM Albanese condemns Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement Monday that the day carried “terrible pain” and his government “unequivocally” condemned Hamas' attack on Israel a year ago.

Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns on Oct. 7 a year ago, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise attack.

Albanese said that since the attack, Jewish Australians have “felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day — and as a nation we say never again.”

“We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred. There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith,” Albanese said.

He added that “every innocent life matters” and the number of civilians killed in the conflict was “a devastating tragedy.”

“Today we reflect on the truth of our shared humanity, of the hope that peace is possible, and the belief that it belongs to all people,” Albanese said.

New Israeli strikes hit Beirut suburbs as Hezbollah claims blasts in Israel's Haifa

BEIRUT — A new round of airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs late Sunday as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon. Palestinian officials said a strike on a mosque in Gaza killed at least 19 people.

Rocket sirens and blasts were heard in Haifa in northern Israel late Sunday, and Hezbollah claimed the attack.

Israel’s military said at least five projectiles were identified coming from Lebanon and “fallen projectiles” were found in the area. The military showed what appeared to be rubble along a street. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was treating a teen with shrapnel injuries to the head and a man who fell from a window due to a blast.