Protest erupts in Jerusalem and other parts of the Israeli nation as they mark the first anniversary of the deadly Hamas attack without knowing the fate of the 97 hostages held by the Hamas-led militants.
Israelis on Monday 7th, October marked the first anniversary of the deadly Hamas attack that left over a thousand dead and about 250 taken hostage without their fate being known to date, even though many of them have reportedly died without their body being recovered.
The anniversary kicked off with a protest, which began around 06:29 am, the exact hour the Hamas militants launched rockets in Israel last year, leaving 1,200 people dead, including women, children and elderly people.
There is an intense security threat from the Palestinians as there are lots of speculations suggesting that they will possibly launch another attack the same day. The Israeli security forces are on alert, anticipating any possible outcome.
Recall that Hezbollah, on Sunday, launched rockets that bypassed the Israeli air defence system and hit Haifa, which is regarded as the country’s third-largest city, injuring over ten people and causing damage to buildings. The attack, which targeted a military site south of Haifa, was launched ahead of the one-year anniversary. In retaliation, Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs that same Sunday in a tremendous bombardment that left scores dead and many injured. The attack, according to reports, targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters and weapons storage facilities in Beirut.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has revealed that Israel will soon decide on how it would respond to Iran after Tehran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles on the Jewish nation, which has escalated the tension in the region and raised fears of a broader regional conflict.
Meanwhile, the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have stirred debate in the United Nations as the UN’s refugee chief cautioned that Israel had breached international law in “many instances” by targeting civilian infrastructure and causing civilian deaths. Also, French President Emmanuel Macron had proposed that there should be an abrupt end to arms shipments to Israel. Responding to Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the proposal as “a disgrace”, questioning if Iran had restricted weapons to its allies.
He said, “As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilised countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side, Yet President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them”. He added that the other Axis stayed together while countries who are supposed to oppose the Axis are the ones clamouring against arms shipment to Israel, which he described as a “disgrace.”
