Israel-Hezbollah conflict live updates: Israelis mark anniversary of October 7 Hamas attack

Israel has launched a new flurry of air strikes across southern Lebanon, targeting approximately 120 different sites within a single hour.

Israel has launched a new flurry of air strikes across southern Lebanon, targeting approximately 120 different sites within a single hour.

More than a hundred aircraft were involved in the strikes, according to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

“These targets belonged to various units of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, including regional units of Hezbollah’s southern front, the Radwan Forces, the Missiles and Rockets Force, and the Intelligence Directorate,” the IDF said.

“This operation follows a series of strikes aimed at degrading Hezbollah’s command, control, and firing capabilities, as well as assisting ground forces in achieving their goals.”

Earlier on Monday, local time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked the anniversary of last year’s October 7 attack by Hamas by vowing that his country would “continue to fight”.

“As long as there are kidnapped in Gaza, we will continue to fight. We will not give up any of them. I will not give up,” said Mr Netanyahu.

“As long as our citizens do not return to their homes safely, we will continue to fight.”

More than 1200 Israelis were murdered in the October 7 attack, most of them civilians, and hundreds more were kidnapped.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, about 42,000 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes over the past year.

Read on for the latest updates from the conflict in the Middle East

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Picture: Anwar Amro/AFP

‘Iran stands exposed’: Former PM urges drastic action

The New York Times, citing American officials, has a new report suggesting it’s “likely” that Israel’s retaliation against Iran over its strikes a week ago with focus on “military bases” and “perhaps some intelligence or leadership sites”.

The Biden administration has been urging Israel to refrain from hitting Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to The Times, those higher value targets “seem to have been reserved” for later, if Iran escalates the situation again.

There is certainly a push, from some quarters in Israel, for more drastic action.

“Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East,” said former prime minister Naftali Bennett, a strident right-wing nationalist.

“We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime.

“We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralysed, Iran stands exposed.”

Naftali Bennett. Picture: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP

‘A nightmare’: Agony of hostage’s mother

The mother of Romi Gonen, one of the Israeli hostages who still remains in Gaza, has spoken to CNN about her year of torment.

Romi, who’s now 24 years old, was one of the people kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the Hamas attack on October 7.

“I cannot even explain how you feel when you wake up in the morning, and for the first moments you hope this is only a nightmare, a dream, a bad dream. But then you are waking up to a reality,” Meirav Gonen told CNN.

“This is so agonizing, it’s so difficult.”

Ms Gonen revealed that some other hostages who were with her daughter in Gaza have since been returned to Israel.

“They came back with stories. Funny stories, and some disturbing also stories. She’s holding up. She was saying she’s holding up for me. And I want her to see me and I want her to see that I’m strong. I’m strong for her. I’m strong for her brothers and sisters,” she said.

Romi’s hand was injured by a gunshot during the attack.

“The color in her fingers was changing, her hand is not functioning,” Ms Gonen said.

“Today I’m saying, it doesn’t matter if she lost her hand. We just have to bring her back alive.”

United States condemns ‘unspeakable brutality’

In the United States, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have all marked the anniversary of October 7.

In a solemn Jewish ceremony of mourning at the White House, Mr Biden lit a candle while a rabbi chanted a prayer for the victims. Ms Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, planted a memorial tree at her residence in Washington. Meanwhile Mr Trump met Jewish leaders at a sacred gravesite in New York.

“Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict,” Mr Biden said in a statement.

The President lashed out at the “unspeakable brutality” of the Hamas attacks and said he and Ms Harris were “fully committed” to Israel’s security against Iran and its regional allies.

But he also described October 7 as a “dark day for the Palestinian people”, and said he and Ms Harris “will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza.”

The Vice President told reporters that a Gaza ceasefire deal was the best hope to “bring any type of stability to the region”.

“We’re not giving up. We’re doing everything we can possibly do to get the ceasefire hostage deal done,” she said.

Mr Trump’s campaign issued a statement saying: “It’s imperative that President Trump is re-elected so he can end the bloodshed.”

Mr Biden, his wife Jill and Rabbi Aaron Alexander at the White House. Picture: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP

More strikes in suburbs of Beirut

Smoke can still be seen rising above the suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, as Israel continues to strike against Hezbollah targets.

Lebanese state media said late on Monday that a pair of strikes from “enemy war planes” had hit the city’s southern suburbs.

The IDF had given residents warning to clear the area ahead of time.

Those strikes followed the earlier flurry involving a hundred aircraft, which bombarded 120 different targets across southern Lebanon.

Israel warned against hitting airport

The United States has warned Israel not to attack Beirut’s airport or the roads leading to it.

“We think it’s very important that not only the airport be open, but that the roads to the airport be open, so that American citizens who want to leave can get out, but also citizens of other countries,” said Matthew Miller a spokesman for the US State Department.

For the past week, the United States has been chartering near-daily flights to get its citizens and their families out of the country as the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah escalates.

Some 900 people have taken the flights so far, Miller said, though he added that none of them were fully booked.

The US is also reserving seats on commercial flights that continue to operate. Some 8500 Americans have contacted the State Department to inquire about departure conditions, but this does not mean they all wish to leave, he added.

The spokesman refused to comment on Israeli strikes in Lebanon – Beirut in particular – and whether or not they respected international law.

“I don’t have a characterisation of them one way or the other,” he said.

“But of course, we expect them to target Hezbollah in a way that complies with international humanitarian law and minimises civilian casualties.”

Mr Miller stressed that, while the US supports Israel in its fight against Hezbollah, “we are very cognisant of the many times in the past where Israel has gone in on what looked like limited operations and has stayed for months or for years”.

“Ultimately, that is not the outcome that we want to see.”

– with AFP

Originally published as Israel-Hezbollah conflict live updates: Israelis mark anniversary of October 7 Hamas attack