Jerusalem: Apprehensions and worries coupled with bravado from Hamas and pledge to counter blows from the militant group from Israel heated up the atmosphere on the occasion of the October 7 attack anniversary.
As Israel remains on the edge on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned on Sunday that Iran would launch attacks against Israel again if necessary.
The Israeli military deployed more troops to defend southern communities and areas bordering Gaza on Sunday. "The IDF's (army) Gaza Division has been reinforced with several platoons, with forces stationed to defend both the communities and the border area. The soldiers are fully equipped to defend the region in coordination with local security forces," the Israeli military said in a statement.
On the other hand, Palestinian group Hamas on Sunday praised its October 7 attack on Israel in a video message ahead of the first anniversary of the deadly storming of southern Israel which sparked the war in Gaza.
"The crossing of the glorious 7th of October shattered the illusions the enemy had created for itself, convincing the world and the region of its supposed superiority and capabilities," Qatar-based Hamas member Khalil al-Hayya said in a video statement.
The attack on October 7 last year resulted in the killings of more than 1000 people, mostly civilians.
At least 41,870 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
Al-Hayya, said a year after the October 7 attack, "all of Palestine, particularly Gaza, and our Palestinian people are writing a new history with their resistance, blood, and steadfastness".
The Israeli military on the other hand said that rockets fired from northern Gaza crossed into southern Israel on Sunday, a day ahead of the first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack.
"Several projectiles were identified crossing from the northern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. One projectile was intercepted, and the rest fell in open areas," the military said in a statement, with Israeli forces on alert for attacks ahead of the grim anniversary of Palestinian militants' unprecedented attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to achieve victory and said his country's military "completely transformed reality" in the year since Hamas's October 7 attack, which has left the country fighting two wars.
Netanyahu told troops Israel "will win" as it battles militants in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and prepares to strike Iran, almost a year since the unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas militants sparked the Gaza war.
Israel's army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said that, one year on, "we have defeated the military wing of Hamas".
Netanyahu had pledged to "crush... and destroy" the militants as fighting began last October, but troops have returned to several areas across Gaza where they had previously conducted operations against Hamas, only to find militants regrouping.
In late September Israel turned its focus north, intensifying military action against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which had been routinely sending rockets over the border from Lebanon in support of Hamas.
"A year ago, we suffered a terrible blow. Over the past 12 months, we have completely transformed reality," Netanyahu said during a visit to the Lebanon border, according to his office.
Hamas says attack glorious
Hamas on Sunday called the October 7 attack "glorious" and said the Palestinians were "writing a new history with their resistance".
Their attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity. Dozens of other hostages are still held.
At last 370 people were killed at one location alone, the Nova rave in the Negev desert, which was commemorated with candles, prayer and music in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
Israel's killing spree
In northern Gaza, the military said it had encircled the Jabaliya area after indications Hamas was rebuilding there despite a year of air strikes and fighting.
Rescuers said 17 people, including nine children, had been killed on Sunday by Israeli air strikes on the area. Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,870 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry and described as reliable by the UN.
Most of Gaza's population is displaced and much of the territory's housing and other infrastructure destroyed.
Despite fighting, which has escalated in Lebanon since late September, and the threat of war with Iran, Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call that Israel's actions in Lebanon would help bring "stability, security and peace in the entire region", according to Netanyahu's office.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati appealed to the international community to push Israel for a ceasefire. US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said in a pre-recorded interview that Washington was "not going to stop" pressuring Israel and Arab leaders to agree a Gaza truce.
The leaders of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates called for intensified international efforts to stop both wars. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani warned the fighting could "plunge the region and the world into prolonged conflicts".
Such appeals, and efforts by mediators, failed to secure a truce and hostage-release deal in Gaza. Critics of Netanyahu accuse him of obstructing such a deal.
Israel has been on high alert in the run-up to the October 7 anniversary, which the military said could lead to "attacks on the home front".
Foreigners flee
Israel, which began ground operations in Lebanon last Monday, says it aims to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced over the past year by Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel to return home.
Tehran, which backs armed groups across the Middle East, on Tuesday launched around 200 missiles at Israel in revenge for Israeli killings of militant leaders including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli officials including Netanyahu have said Israel will respond to Iran's missile barrage, most of which was intercepted by the country's sophisticated air defences.
Iran has prepared its own plan to respond to a possible Israeli attack, Tasnim news agency reported, citing an informed source.
Flights at some Iranian airports were suspended Sunday, Tehran's aviation body announced, citing "operational restrictions". Across Lebanon, strikes have killed more than 1,110 people since September 23, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Lebanon's Director General of Education Imad Achkar said Sunday that 40 percent of Lebanon's 1.25 million school pupils had been displaced by Israel's strikes.
Several countries have been evacuating their nationals from Lebanon. Gaza's health ministry said Sunday an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir el-Balah had killed 26 people. Israel said it had targeted Hamas militants.
Ahead of the October 7 anniversary, tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities around the world over the weekend calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. (With inputs from agencies)
