Middle East crisis live: New Israeli military division sent to Lebanon, IDF says, as vigils and ceremonies mark 7 October anniversary

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In a separate statement released by the White House, the US vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, said she would “never forget the horror of October 7, 2023”.

In a statement, Harris said:

I will do everything in my power to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza, that it fails in its mission to annihilate Israel, and that the people of Gaza are free from the grip of Hamas. I will never stop fighting for the release of all the hostages, including the seven American citizens, living and deceased, still held: Omer, Edan, Sagui, Keith, Judy, Gad, and Itay. I will never stop fighting for justice for those who murdered Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other Americans. And I will always ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists like Hamas. My commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering…

Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7 launched a war in Gaza. I am heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year—tens of thousands of lives lost, children fleeing for safety over and over again, mothers and fathers struggling to obtain food, water, and medicine. It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people. And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination. We also continue to believe that a diplomatic solution across the Israel-Lebanon border region is the only path to restore lasting calm and allow residents on both sides to return safely to their homes.

Harris does not appear to be deviating much from US President Joe Biden’s position of staunchly supporting Israel (economically, militarily and diplomatically), which during its war on Gaza has effectively been unconditional.

The White House has released a statement from the US president, Joe Biden, on the anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attacks on southern Israel.

Biden said:

On this day last year, the sun rose on what was supposed to be a joyous Jewish holiday. By sunset, October 7 had become the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Today marks one year of mourning for the more than 1,200 innocent people of all ages, including 46 Americans, massacred in southern Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. One year since Hamas committed horrific acts of sexual violence.

One year since more than 250 innocents were taken hostage, including 12 Americans. One year for the survivors carrying wounds, seen and unseen, who will never be the same. And one year of a devastating war. 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…

I believe that history will also remember October 7th as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day. Far too many civilians have suffered far too much during this year of conflict — and tens of thousands have been killed, a human toll made far worse by terrorists hiding and operating among innocent people.

We will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, allows for a surge in humanitarian aid to ease the suffering on the ground, assures Israel’s security, and ends this war. Israelis and Palestinians alike deserve to live in security, dignity, and peace.

Biden, in the last months of his presidency, has failed to exercise US leverage – as Israel’s biggest arms supplier and diplomatic shield at the UN – over Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US state department has issued a statement from Antony Blinken on the anniversary of the 7 October attack on southern Israel. In it, the secretary of state says:

Today, we mark a devastating and tragic anniversary. On 7 October 2023, more than 1,200 men, women and children, including 46 Americans and citizens of more than 30 countries, were slaughtered by Hamas – the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Girls and women were sexually assaulted. The depravity of Hamas’s crimes is almost unspeakable.

He continues:

Hamas’ attacks on 7 October unleashed a year of conflict, with tragic consequences for the Palestinian people. The US mourns the death of every innocent who died on 7 October and in the year since. It is time to reach a ceasefire agreement that brings the hostages home, alleviates the suffering of the Israeli and Palestinian people, and ultimately brings an end to this war.

The international community must also stand steadfast in the face of terrorism and violent extremism, including the sources of support for groups like Hamas. It must condemn Iran’s support for Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region that are responsible for so much death, destruction, and instability.

On this painful anniversary, the US stands with Israel as it defends itself against terrorism. We remain steadfast in our commitment to lasting peace and stability across the region and for a common future for Israelis and Palestinians with equal measures of security, dignity, opportunity, and freedom.

The Lebanese National News Agency reports that in the last thirty minutes a series of Israeli strikes have hit “more than thirty towns and villages in Tyre district”.

There are also Lebanese media reports of a new Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh. Itay Blumental, military correspondent for Israel’s Channel 11, has posted this image on social media which purports to be from the scene.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that a 12-year-old Palestinian child has been shot dead by Israeli security forces in Qalandia refugee camp, which is situated in the Israeli-occupied West Bank between Jerusalem to the south and Ramallah to the north. It reports that seven other people, including three children, were wounded in the same incident. The child was named by the agency, citing the health ministry, as Hatem Ghaith.

Global children’s charity Plan International UK has issued a renewed plea for a ceasefire on the anniversary of the 7 October attacks on southern Israel. In a statement chief executive Rose Caldwell said:

We are heartbroken by the horrific violence that has engulfed Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, and Lebanon since October 2023. Every day that passes without a permanent ceasefire means more children killed, while those who survive are exposed to constant daily traumas that will leave mental and physical scars for years to come.

The international community has a legal and moral obligation to stop this devastation and prevent countless more deaths. We are calling for the unconditional and immediate release of all remaining civilian hostages in Gaza, all Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons, and all Palestinians who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained. We implore the parties to the conflict to respect and adhere to International humanitarian law at all times, and continue to call for an immediate end to the targeting of aid workers by the Israeli military in Gaza.

The UK has withdrawn the families of its embassy staff working in Israel due to the escalation in fighting, Reuters reports.

“As a precautionary measure following escalation in the region, family members of British embassy staff have been temporarily withdrawn,” the Foreign Office travel advice webpage for Israel read. “Our staff members remain.”

The British government has advised citizens in Lebanon to leave the country as Israel expands its airstrike campaign against what it says are Hezbollah targets. British citizens living in Israel are not being told to leave but are being cautioned that consular assistance is “severely limited”.

It has just gone 3pm in Beirut, Tel Aviv and Gaza City. Here are the headlines …

Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon overnight killed 10 firefighters, bringing to 115 the number of rescuers killed in a year, according to a tally compiled by AFP. During a visit to Lebanon, Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, has warned that “Israeli aggression” was pushing the region towards the “abyss” of full-blown war. Two people were killed after Israeli warplanes bombed a house in the Lebanese town of Qaliya in the western Bekaa valley

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his vow to bring back all hostages still held in Gaza as vigils were held on the one year anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attacks on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed. Israel’s government has failed to agree a hostage exchange and ceasefire deal with Hamas in the ten months since a brief negotiated pause in fighting ended late last year

President Isaac Herzog was among those holding a moment of silence at the site of the Nova music festival, where about 360 people were shot dead during last year’s Hamas attack, and where family and friends are holding commemorations

Families of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza gathered near Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence and stood during a two-minute siren, replicating a custom from Holocaust Remembrance and Memorial Day. Out of 251 people taken hostage on 7 October 2023, an estimated 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s military has announced the death of a second soldier in combat on the Lebanese border. The IDF has said another division was deployed yesterday for “localised operations” in southern Lebanon

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed that Israel would pay a price for the “genocide” in Gaza. In comments likely to enrage the Israeli prime minister, Erdoğan said “Just as Hitler was stopped by an alliance of humanity, Netanyahu and his murder network will be stopped in the same way”

The IDF has called on residents of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate southward towards the so-called “humanitarian zone” of al-Mawasi, where an estimated one million displaced people are sheltering

At least 41,909 Palestinian people have been killed and 97,303 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Monday. The Hamas-led ministry said the toll includes 39 deaths in the previous 24 hours

Air raid sirens were activated in central Israel on Monday after rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, the army said

A 19-year-old Palestinian journalist whose work appeared on Al Jazeera has been killed in an Israeli strike, the Qatar-based network has reported

The Israeli military has announced the death of second soldier in combat on the Lebanese border, Reuters reports. The military had earlier on Monday said a soldier had been killed in combat on the border and two soldiers were severely injured.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed that Israel would pay a price for the “genocide” in Gaza.

“It should not be forgotten that Israel will sooner or later pay the price for this genocide that it has been carrying out for a year and is still continuing,” he wrote in a post on X.

“Just as Hitler was stopped by an alliance of humanity, Netanyahu and his murder network will be stopped in the same way,” Erdoğan said.

“A world in which no account is held for the Gaza genocide will never find peace.”

Erdoğan has been a vocal opponent of Israel’s war on Gaza, which the territory’s health ministry says has killed nearly 42,000 people, many of whom are women and children. He has called for Israel to be punished in international courts and criticised western nations for backing the country’s ongoing military assault.

The Turkish leader added in his post on X:

What has been massacred live on TV in front of the eyes of the world for exactly one year is actually all of humanity, all of humanity’s hopes for the future.

Today, I remember with sorrow the tens of thousands of people who have been massacred by the murderous Israeli government since 7 October, and I offer my most heartfelt condolences to my heartbroken Gazan, Palestinian and Lebanese brothers and sisters who lost their spouses, children and families. Israel’s long-standing policy of genocide, occupation and invasion must now come to an end.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his vow to bring back all hostages still held in Gaza as vigils were held on the one year anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attacks on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed.

In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu said:

On this day, in this place, and in many places across our country, we remember our dead, our hostages, whom we are obligated to bring back and our heroes who fell in defence of the homeland and the nation. We went through a terrible massacre a year ago.

His comments came just hours after the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Idan Shtivi, 28, one of the hostages taken by Hamas from the Supernova music festival last year, was killed during the attacks and that his “body is still held captive by Hamas”(see earlier post at 07.25).

Out of 251 people taken hostage on October 7 2023, an estimated 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.

Netanyahu has been accused of blocking a ceasefire deal over his insistence on continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor, which separates Gaza from Egypt, and central Gaza’s Netzarim corridor, a strategic route bisecting Gaza.

Hamas has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Egypt has said that a heavy Israeli military presence on its border threatens the peace treaty between the countries.

We have a little more information on the Jordanian foreign minister’s diplomatic visit to Beirut (see post at 11.28) today.

Ayman Safadi arrived on board a plane earlier carrying 13 tonnes of food supplies, relief materials, medication, and medical equipment, Al Jazeera reported.

Safadi will meet Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati, speaker of the country’s parliament Nabih Berri, and Lebanese army commander general Joseph Aoun.

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Updated: Oktober 7, 2024 — 8:55 am

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