One year of Hamas massacre: Israel mourns, but Netanyahu confident of victory

A year after the massacre on October 7th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared confident of victory. “Together we will continue to fight, and together – with God’s grace – we will prevail,” he said in a video message.

At the same time, the Shiite militia Hezbollah fired around 190 projectiles from Lebanon into Israel on the anniversary of the attack by the Islamist Hamas and other extremists, according to the Israeli armed forces. The Israeli Air Force, for its part, said it carried out dozens of attacks on targets in Lebanon.

“We have set the war goals and we are achieving them,” promised Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. These are: to break Hamas’ rule, to bring all hostages home, to make any future threat from the Gaza Strip impossible and to enable the safe return of residents of the south and north to their homes.

After a year of war with almost 42,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip and growing international criticism of Israel’s harsh actions in the coastal strip – and now also in Lebanon – none of the war goals mentioned by Netanyahu have yet been completely achieved.

Israel in sadness and anger over Hamas massacre

People in Tel Aviv remembered the victims at events marking the first anniversary of the worst massacre in the history of the State of Israel. Many people cried at a gathering of relatives in Jarkon Park, holding each other’s arms and carrying photos of those killed and abducted.

Balloons were raised for the approximately 100 Israelis still held hostage in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of people repeatedly shouted the word “achshav”, which means “now” in Hebrew and stands for the immediate release of those abducted.

However, there have been repeated calls for an investigation into how the security forces could have been taken by surprise. Prime Minister Netanyahu was accused of having prevented a ceasefire in the Gaza war and thus the release of the hostages.

Fighting between Israel and Lebanon

Ahead of the planned naval deployment, Israeli forces imposed a blockade on Lebanon’s southern Mediterranean coast. A statement published in Arabic warns civilians not to stay on beaches or go out to sea in boats because the Israeli navy is planning combat operations there. Staying on the beach or at sea is “life-threatening” for the time being, the military said on Platform X.

The warning applies to the entire coast south of the mouth of the Awali River near Sidon. This section to the de facto border with Israel is around 60 kilometers long.

According to media reports, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a military base near the headquarters of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad. The attack was on the base of the telecommunications intelligence unit Unit 8200 near Tel Aviv, the newspaper “The Times of Israel” reported. The base is next to the Mossad headquarters. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, five rockets were fired in the attack. Some were intercepted, others fell in open areas.

Harris does not want to comment clearly on Netanyahu

Democratic US presidential candidate Kamala Harris avoided a clear answer when asked about the reliability of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. “I think, with all due respect, the better question is: Is there an important alliance between the American people and the Israelis? And the answer to that question is yes,” Harris said on the political show “60 Minutes” when asked : “Do we have a really close ally in Prime Minister Netanyahu?”

Harris said the U.S. government’s work with Israel’s leadership at the diplomatic level is “an ongoing effort to clarify our principles.” She added that Israel has the right to defend itself. But it depends on how Israel does it. “Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. This war must end.”