A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Israel, where people across the country observed a day of grief and reflection yesterday, marking one year since the attacks on October 7.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
That was the day that Hamas-led militants stormed out of Gaza and attacked communities in southern Israel. The killing and hostage-taking on that day was followed by a yearlong Israeli offensive in Gaza so far - also attacks on Israel from elsewhere in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, and in recent days, Israel has expanded its offensive there. Israelis gathered in prayer on Monday, remembering those killed October 7.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOT FIRING)
INSKEEP: And there, you're hearing from Gaza and Lebanon a day of airstrikes and evacuation orders.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Kat Lonsdorf joins us now from Tel Aviv. So let's start with the memorials in Israel, Kat. What can you tell us about how Israelis marked the year?
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Yeah. The mood was really somber here. There were several different memorials throughout the country. One was organized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, one by the families of hostages and people killed last October, and a few more at the actual sites down south where the attacks took place. You know, a big reason for those different memorials has to do with disagreements over Netanyahu's insistence for continuing the war in Gaza. Families of hostages and their supporters want an immediate cease-fire deal to end the war and get the remaining 101 hostages back. They didn't want to be part of the official government memorial.
And, you know, it's also worth noting, just here in Tel Aviv yesterday, sirens went off warning of incoming rockets from three different places throughout the day. First, Hamas shot rockets from Gaza, a few of which hit in the Tel Aviv suburbs. Then later, the Israeli military said it shot down a missile from Yemen. And then, late last night, huge booms in Tel Aviv - it actually shook my windows here - as the Israeli military said it shot down projectiles from Lebanon.
MARTÍNEZ: The backdrop of all this, of course, is now multiple wars being fought by Israel, both in Gaza and Lebanon...
LONSDORF: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: ...And Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank. So Kat, let's start with Gaza, which has been devastated by Israeli forces the past year. What happened there yesterday?
LONSDORF: So Israeli airstrikes started early in the morning in Gaza, and Hamas also launched rockets back at southern Israel. Both of those happened right around 6:29 a.m., which was when the attack on Israel started last year. Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza throughout the day. Israel said it was taking out Hamas rocket launchers, but at least 39 Palestinians were killed, according to health officials there. And that's just yesterday. And there were more Israeli evacuation orders for both north and south Gaza. This comes after an entire year of continuous displacement for Palestinians there. The Israeli military said it's about to go into the north with what it calls, quote, "extreme force." So we're going to watch and see what happens.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. And then there's also Lebanon, where Israeli troops began a ground invasion last week. What do we know about that?
LONSDORF: Well, it's hard to get much information about what's happening in southern Lebanon because it's been declared a closed military zone by Israel. But we do know that Israel is continuing its strikes in southern Lebanon and in Beirut. An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 firefighters in the south yesterday, according to Lebanese health officials. And those firefighters were getting ready to rescue people who'd been hurt in other strikes. Israel says it's targeting Hezbollah militants in those strikes.
Just in the past few weeks of Israeli strikes, more than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, thousands wounded and more than a million have been displaced, according to Lebanese officials. Israel says it's going in for, quote, "limited operations," but this is also language that Israel has used about Gaza and that war is still very much ongoing a year later. So many fear that Lebanon might be the same.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Kat Lonsdorf in Tel Aviv. Kat, thank you very much for this reporting.
LONSDORF: Thanks so much, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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