War in the Middle East: the strong act of the families of hostages against Netanyahu on October 7

One year after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, tributes are being paid to the victims in Israel. But the official ceremony was shunned by the families of the hostages. Despite the ceremonies, the war continues between Israel, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Essentials

• One year to the day after the attack of October 7, 2023 perpetrated by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Israel is organizing ceremonies in tribute to the victims.
• Several ceremonies are planned in Israel in memory of the 1,205 people who died and the 64 hostages presumed alive, but the official ceremony organized by Benjamin Netanyahu's ministers was boycotted by the victims' families who preferred to go to other commemorations.
• A tribute to the victims of October 7 is also planned in France by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF) at the Paris Dome in the presence of several ministers and Emmanuel Macron. The head of state must also receive the families of the hostages and victims living in France.
• Despite the ceremonies, the war in the Middle East continues. Israel continues to carry out air strikes against Lebanon and begins ground operations. The strikes also target the Gaza Strip, but Hamas claims responsibility for several rocket attacks against the Hebrew state on October 7.

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12:19 – Israel is “obliged to bring back” assures Benyamin Netanyahu

A year after the Hamas attack that escalated the Israeli-Palestinian armed conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that the Hebrew state is “obliged to return” the hostages still in the hands of Hamas: “On this day, in this place and in many places in our country, we remember our dead, our hostages – whom we are obliged to return, and our heroes who fell in defense of the homeland and the country.” he said at a ceremony in Jerusalem. Another 97 hostages are still being held by Hamas, 34 of whom have been declared dead.

10:52 – Dominique de Villepin claims to support Israel, but only up to a certain point

“We can no longer support the massacres that are taking place in this region and which are endangering the entire region” said former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin on Franceinfo this Monday, October 7, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been spreading in recent weeks. The politician recognizes that the attack carried out a year ago by Hamas “is an unprecedented tragedy in Israel [and] which has lasted for a year for all Israelis”, but he notes that tragic attacks carried out by Israel affect other territories and other civilians. “We cannot put aside the images of one and the other. “Too many of us lock ourselves in our pain, forgetting the pain of others,” declared the former minister, calling for an end to mutual attacks, but especially those ordered by Israel. According to Dominique de Villepin, some strikes are no longer justified, particularly because today “Israel's security is not at stake from Gaza.”

The former diplomat also believes that France must oppose certain strikes: “We cannot move towards peace without betting on politics”, “at a given moment let us not deliver weapons that are not intended to ensure the security of Israel but to bring death to Gaza and Lebanon”, supporting the remarks made by Emmanuel Macron on Saturday evening. According to him, Benyamin Netanyahu is pursuing a dream that goes beyond of the need to secure Israel and its inhabitants: “Ensuring and guaranteeing the security of Israel, of course, not accompanying the adventure undertaken by Benjamin Netanyahu. Our security is also at stake, because what happens there is not without consequences for what happens here”.

10:33 – Hamas claims responsibility for shootings on Tel Aviv

The Hebrew state is being targeted by rocket fire from Gaza, according to the Israeli army. Air raid sirens sounded in central Israel in the middle of the morning. Just minutes after the army's announcement, Hamas claimed responsibility for rocket fire targeting Tel Aviv.

10:14 – The Israeli army said be engaged in ground combat

The Israeli army announced that soldiers belonging to a third division were engaged in ground combat against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Monday, October 7. “Soldiers from the 91st Division began localized and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon yesterday, Sunday,” it said in a statement. For its part, Hezbollah indicated that it was targeting Israeli troops located in a Lebanese village in the border between the two countries.

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09:57 – Hamas “does not regret” the attack on Israel

“The Al-Aqsa flood has brought the [Israeli] occupier back to square one and threatened its existence,” former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told Al Arabiya TV, hailing the movement's October 7, 2023, attack. Several other people in contact with current Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar told Reuters that the Islamist movement's leader “does not regret” the attacks on Israel, despite the destruction of Gaza that followed. Hamas leader believes the only way to achieve the creation of a Palestinian state.

09:31 – French Foreign Minister pays tribute to victims of October 7

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot is in Israel, in Kibbutz Ra'em, to attend a ceremony and meet with relatives of people killed and kidnapped at the Nova music festival site, where at least 370 people were killed last year by Hamas attackers. “Today, France mourns,” said the minister on the sidelines of the tribute. “We will never forget those who were savagely murdered here. We will continue to work to ensure that such an atrocity never happens again,” he added. Jean-Noël Barrot must lay 48 roses in tribute to the 48 French people executed during the attack on October 7.

09:21 – Hezbollah will continue to combating Israeli “aggression”

In a statement released on Monday, October 7, Hezbollah said it would continue to fight Israeli “aggression.” The pro-Iranian Islamist movement also said it had opened a front against Israel in southern Lebanon the day after October 7, 2023, to “defend Lebanon” and believes it has “paid a high price” for it. However, Hezbollah is not giving up the fight and describes Israel as a “cancerous” entity that must be “eliminated” in the long term.

08:45 – Herzog calls for “supporting Israel in its fight against its enemies”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a statement on the first anniversary of the Hamas attack calling on the international community to support the Hebrew state: “The world must realize and understand that in order to change the course of history and bring peace and a better future to the region, it must support Israel in its fight against its enemies.” The date of October 7, 2023, leaves “a scar on humanity […] a scar on the face of the Earth,” Herzog added. the Israeli head of state.

08:37 – New Israeli strikes in Lebanon

Over the weekend and again during the night from Sunday to Monday and very early this morning, the Israeli army carried out new strikes against Lebanon, particularly in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Hebrew state says it targeted the headquarters of Hezbollah and weapons stocks. According to information from L'Orient-Le Jour, strikes were also carried out against eastern Lebanon and the localities of the Bekaa Valley, but also in southern Lebanon.

08:20 – The death of an Israeli hostage announced by the victims' families

“The Hostage Families Forum mourns the murder of Idan Shtivi,” a 28-year-old who had been held hostage since the attack on October 7, 2023. The hostage's death was announced exactly one year after the deadliest attack in Israeli history and after Hamas kidnapped nearly 100 hostages. Idan Shtivi's body remains at Gaza according to the Family Forum.

08:11 – Hamas claims fire on Israel

Just minutes after commemorations began at the Nova festival grounds in Israel, rocket fire was launched from Gaza, according to the Israeli military. “Three of the projectiles were intercepted and one projectile was identified as falling in an open area,” an IDF source said on Telegram. Hamas's military wing has since claimed responsibility. the shootings.

“The pain remains, as sharp as it was a year ago. That of the Israeli people. Ours. That of wounded humanity”, wrote Emmanuel Macron in a message posted on X this Monday, October 7. The President of the Republic is due to receive the families of the victims and hostages who live in France during the day. This evening, he could attend the tribute organized by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF) alongside other ministers.

Several ceremonies are being organized in Israel this Monday, in tribute to the victims or hostages taken during the attack of October 7 led by Hamas. The commemorations began very early on Monday, at 5:30 a.m. (French time). A minute of silence was observed, notably at the Nova festival site where more than 350 people lost their lives, and where several families of the victims gathered. An official ceremony is also planned in the presence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, but is being shunned by the families of the victims and hostages. The latter have organized a ceremony in Tel Aviv.