Israel heightened its alert levels on Saturday in preparation for the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack. A military official stated that Israel is preparing to retaliate against Iran’s missile strike. This alert follows escalating conflict with Hezbollah, a Lebanese group, which Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, vowed would be attacked “without concession or respite.”
In anticipation of potential threats, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced in a televised briefing, “We are prepared with increased forces in anticipation for this day,” when there could be “attacks on the home front.” The October 7 attack last year by Hamas led to the deaths of 1,205 people, primarily civilians, according to Israeli figures.
As the war in Gaza persists, Israel’s focus has expanded to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. The Israeli military reported that approximately 440 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since Monday through “targeted” operations in Lebanon. Israel’s goal is to allow the safe return of Israelis displaced by nearly a year of Hezbollah rocket attacks in northern Israel.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog labeled Iran an “ongoing threat” after Tehran launched around 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday. This attack was in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of key militant leaders. Herzog said it is Israel’s “duty” to respond to the Iranian strike, which killed a Palestinian in the West Bank and caused damage to an Israeli air base.
An Israeli military official, speaking anonymously to AFP, confirmed that the army “is preparing a response” to the Iranian missile strike.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that Iran has launched “hundreds of missiles” at Israeli territory twice since April. In a statement, he asserted, “Israel has the duty and the right to defend itself and to respond to these attacks, and that is what we will do.”
Netanyahu has faced criticism for allegedly hindering efforts to secure a ceasefire with Gaza and to negotiate the release of hostages still held by Hamas.
In a separate development, Hezbollah reported losing contact with Hashem Safieddine, who was expected to be the group’s next leader, following Israeli air strikes in Beirut. The group has not yet named a new chief after Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah in a large-scale strike last month in the Lebanese capital.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reaffirmed on Friday that “the resistance in the region will not back down.”
Hezbollah also reported ongoing confrontations with Israeli forces along Lebanon’s southern border and claimed to have repelled an Israeli incursion into a border village. The Israeli military confirmed striking militants inside a mosque in Bint Jbeil and reported regular rocket attacks from Lebanon, while Hezbollah claimed responsibility for rocket strikes on northern Israel’s Ramat David airbase and a military site near Acre.
Hamas reported that Israeli strikes had killed two of its operatives in northern and eastern Lebanon on Saturday, with one of the operatives hit near Tripoli, marking the first such strike in the area.
In Beirut, civilians are caught in the escalating conflict. Salma Salman, a mother of seven-year-old twins, described the situation as a “terrifying, never-ending nightmare” as she and her children have been forced to camp out on Hamra Street for nearly two weeks.
Late Saturday, Israel issued a new evacuation order for residents of southern Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. Early Sunday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that “more than 30” Israeli airstrikes hit southern Beirut and its outskirts overnight. AFP correspondents confirmed hearing multiple explosions and witnessing smoke rising in the area.
Since September 23, Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of over 1,110 people, according to a tally based on official figures. The strikes have also severely impacted Lebanon’s healthcare system, with at least four hospitals being forced out of service due to the bombardment.
Filippo Grandi, head of the UN’s refugee agency, warned that Lebanon “faces a terrible crisis,” noting that hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced or left destitute by the ongoing Israeli airstrikes. Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) rejected an Israeli military request to relocate some of its positions in southern Lebanon. Irish President Michael Higgins, whose country contributes to UNIFIL, criticized Israel’s request as an “insult” to the UN’s role in the region.
In response to the escalating conflict, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, after visiting Beirut and Damascus, reiterated calls for ceasefires in both Gaza and Lebanon, warning of a “stronger” reaction if Israel attacks Iran. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt to the supply of weapons fueling the Gaza conflict and criticized Israel’s decision to send ground troops into Lebanon.
Efforts by U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian mediators to secure a Gaza truce and the release of 97 hostages held by Hamas have so far been unsuccessful. On Sunday, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in Deir al-Balah killed 21 people, though the Israeli military claimed the strike was targeting Hamas militants.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,825 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the territory’s health ministry and described as reliable by the UN.
Ahead of the October 7 anniversary, thousands joined pro-Palestinian rallies in London, Paris, Cape Town and other cities.
Herzog, the Israeli president, said his country’s October 7 “wounds still cannot fully heal”.
