Israel marks Oct 7 anniversary under shadow of war

[Pelican Press 0]

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******* marks Oct 7 anniversary under shadow of war

Israelis have begun to mark the first anniversary of the devastating ****** ******* that triggered a war that has sparked protest worldwide and risks igniting a far wider conflict in the Middle East.

Ceremonies and protests in Jerusalem and *******’s south on Monday were scheduled to begin at 6.29am (2pm AEDT), the hour when ******-led militants launched rockets into ******* at the start of the October 7 ******* in 2023.

They ******* some 1200 people and took about 250 hostages to Gaza, according to ******** figures.

Security forces were on high alert across the country on Monday, the military and police said, anticipating possible ************ attacks planned for the anniversary of October 7, 2023, when the worst bloodletting in the decades-old ********-************ conflict began.

The ****** ******* on ******** communities around Gaza and *******’s relentless campaign in response have destabilised the Middle East while the scale of the ******** and destruction have horrified people worldwide.

Outside *******, demonstrations are expected around the world against its offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has ***** waste the densely populated coastal enclave, ******* almost 42,000 people, according to ************ health authorities, and displaced most of the 2.3 million population.

For *******, the surprise ******** by the ************ Islamist group was one of the worst security failures for a country that prides itself on a strong, sophisticated military.

The ******* led to *******’s single deadliest day, shattered many citizens’ sense of security and sent their ****** in its leaders to new lows.

Most of the ***** were civilians, including women, children and elderly people, ******* in their homes, on the roads and at the site of an open air music festival – as well as soldiers on army bases near the Gaza border.

In Gaza, 101 hostages remain as ******** forces press on with their mission to end ******’s rule of the enclave and demolish its military capabilities.

But the focus of the war has increasingly shifted north to Lebanon, where ******** forces have been exchanging ***** with Hezbollah since the Iranian-backed group launched a barrage of missiles in support of ****** on October 8.

What began as limited daily exchanges has escalated into bombardments of Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut and a ground offensive into border villages meant to stamp out its fighters there and allow tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from their homes in the country’s north to return.

*******’s ********, which has ******* well over 1000 people in the past two weeks, has triggered a mass flight from southern Lebanon where more than one million people have been displaced.

A series of ******** assassinations over the past few months which ******* Hezbollah and ****** chiefs and a sophisticated ******* on Hezbollah via pagers and radios have restored some sense of security for Israelis.

But they also prompted unprecedented missile attacks from Iran, raising fears of a regional war with a powerful ******. ******* has yet to respond to the second Iranian barrage on October 1, but has vowed a harsh response.

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