Israel bombs Lebanon, Gaza on first anniversary of current conflict

Israel bombed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip on Sunday ahead of today’s first anniversary of the Oct 7 attacks that sparked the current war, as Israel’s defence minister declared all options were open for retaliation against arch-enemy Iran.

According to a report by Reuters, Israeli airstrikes battered Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday in the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital since Israel sharply escalated its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah last month.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it deployed more troops to defend southern communities and areas bordering Gaza.

“The IDF’s (Israeli Defence Force) Gaza Division has been reinforced with several platoons, with forces stationed to defend both the communities and the border area,” the military said.

“The soldiers are fully equipped to defend the region in coordination with local security forces,” it said in a statement.

Inside Gaza, the military said three divisions were working to “dismantle infrastructure and degrade Hamas’ capabilities.”

“The Southern Command remains at a heightened state of vigilance and readiness for the coming days,” commanding officer Major General Yaron Finkelman was quoted as saying by news wire service AFP.

Protests erupt

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in major cities around the world to condemn the Israeli military operations in Gaza.

Al-Jazeera reported that in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, more than 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the embassy of the United States, demanding that Washington stop sending weapons to Israel.

In the Philippines, dozens of left-wing activists protested near the US embassy in Manila, but police prevented them from approaching the seaside compound.

In Cape Town in South Africa, hundreds walked to parliament, chanting: “Israel is a racist state!” and “We are all Palestinians!”

On Oct 7 last year, Hamas broke through the border from Gaza into Israel in what would become the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.

At the end of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the fighters launched their assault by land, air, and sea.

A year later, the confirmed death toll from the attack, including hostages killed in captivity, has reached 1,205 on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hours after the attack, Israel launched a lightning military offensive on Gaza, which has reduced large swathes of the territory to rubble, and nearly all of the 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once as a humanitarian crisis worsened.

Israel's relentless offensive on Gaza has so far killed at least 41,870 people, a majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

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