Aussies arrive from Lebanon; Oct 7 victims remembered

Commemorative events for the anniversary of the October 7 attacks are underway as the IDF expanded its targets in Lebanon and hundreds of Australians arrived home. Follow the updates.

Israel is fighting a war on multiple fronts, intensifying its battle with Lebanon’s Hezbollah as Hamas warned of a long war on the first anniversary of the deadliest attack in Israeli history.

Meanwhile, people worldwide gathered for commemorations for the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attack, as hundreds of Australians arrive home after fleeing Lebanon where the Israeli military has expanded its operational targets.

Lebanon said that an additional 400,000 Lebanese have fled across the border into Syria.

The Israeli army declared four areas “closed military zone” in the country’s northwest, following an earlier call to evacuate the nearby Lebanese coastline.

Families of victims and hostages attend the main ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel, which changed from being open to the general public to just being for the families of victims and hostages. Picture: Getty Images

Friends and families of victims and hostages react during the main ceremony in Park HaHarkon on October 7, 2024 in Tel Aviv. Picture: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

It comes as Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched 130 rockets at Israel, and the IDF targeted Beirut again, as multiple projectiles were also fired from the Gaza Strip just minutes after the country began to formally commemorate last year’s October 7 attacks.

The memorial to Yulia Waxer Daunov, as family members and friends of the lost and kidnapped gather at the site of the Nova Festival to mark the one year anniversary of the attacks by Hamas in Re'im, Israel. Picture: Getty Images

The armed wing of Hamas said it had fired rockets into southern Israel, while Hezbollah launched more than 130 rockets at targets in Israel including the port city of Haifa.

The Israeli military said it had prevented an “immediate threat” from Hamas.

“The IAF (air force) struck Hamas launch posts and underground terrorist infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip,” the military said.

“Furthermore, overnight, the IAF and IDF (Israeli army) artillery struck targets in the central Gaza Strip that posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area.”

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburb late on October 6, 2024. Picture: AFP

The military said sirens also sounded in the Upper Galilee area of northern Israel, with no let-up in the daily rocket fire and attacks on Israeli troops on the Lebanon border, where Israeli forces are fighting Hezbollah militants.

It comes as hundreds of Australians fleeing Lebanon arrived at Sydney Airport after being evacuated on government-assisted flights via Cyprus, and there will be more to come.

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Originally published as Aussies arrive from Lebanon; Oct 7 victims remembered