Israel is marking the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack as its Lebanon operation continues and leaders consider their response to Iran’s latest long-range missile attack.
Hundreds of Iranian missiles were fired into the country last week, according to Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Iran said the unprecedented attack was retaliation for a wave of assassinations carried out by Israel over the last several weeks targeting Hezbollah, including leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Most of the missiles were intercepted, but “several hits were identified, and the damage is being assessed,” an Israeli security official said.
Tune in to ABC News Live at 4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, for “Oct 7th: Race to Survive” — special coverage of the anniversary of the conflict. Veteran correspondent Matt Gutman highlights voices of Israelis and Palestinians impacted by the war and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff marked the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by planting a pomegranate tree — a symbol of hope and righteousness in Judaism — at the vice president’s residence.
Harris said the tree will “remind future vice presidents of the United States, their families and all who pass through these grounds, not only of the horror of Oct. 7, but the strength and the endurance of the Jewish people.”
The vice president underscored her pledge to make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself.
Harris also said the world must “work to relieve the immense suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza who have experienced so much pain and loss over the year.”
Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a president or a vice president, also spoke about the “incredibly challenging day for Jews.”
“We are still hurting, and today feels just as raw as it did one year ago,” he said. “What happened on Oct. 7 is seared into our souls.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Israeli incursions into Lebanon continue to be limited, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday, noting that this assessment does not “offer any kind of forecast about what’s going to happen.”
Miller asserted that U.S. officials were still engaged in talks about “what the path forward ought to look like” with a variety of partners in the Middle East.
“Just because we don’t make the details of those conversations public, which we are not at this point, doesn’t mean that we are not actively engaged in them,” he said.
Similarly, he said Israel’s campaign in Lebanon hadn’t impacted the administration’s drive to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and characterized Hamas as the main hurdle that has been “unwilling to engage in a meaningful way with the mediators.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
The State Department said Monday it organized a flight to carry Americans out of Lebanon on Monday.
The flight carried approximately 150 American citizens, legal permanent residents and their family members from Beirut to Istanbul, the State Department said.
The department said earlier Monday that it had also organized two flights over the weekend carrying a combined 235 passengers from Beirut to Istanbul.
Monday’s flight brings the total number of U.S. charter flights from Lebanon over the past week to eight, with 900 combined passengers, according to the State Department.
The State Department said it has additionally blocked off 868 seats for Americans on commercial flights, with a significant share of them filled.
Officials from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut are now in contact with approximately 8,500 people inside Lebanon who have asked for more information about departing the country.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday that does not mean that all intend to leave, though the department has assessed that there is still significant demand for additional government charter flights among Americans in Lebanon.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck more than 120 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Monday within an hour.
The airstrikes followed evacuation orders earlier Monday.
Over the past 48 hours, 190 airstrikes were recorded throughout Lebanon, primally in the south, according to the Lebanese Security Council. Forty-seven people were killed and another 207 injured, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
In a warning to vacationers, beachgoers and boaters, the Israel Defense Forces said they will soon operate against “Hezbollah maritime targets” south of the Awali River line.
“For your safety, refrain from being in the sea or on the beach from now until further notice. Being on the beach and boat movements in the area of the Awali River line southward pose a danger to your life,” the IDF said.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden joined a memorial candle lighting held Monday in the Blue Room of the White House in remembrance of the victims of the Oct. 7 attack.
Rabbi Aaron Alexander recited in Hebrew “El Malei Rachamim” (“God Full of Mercy”), a traditional Jewish prayer for those who have died, then recited it in English.
Biden then lit the yahrzeit candle before observing a moment of silence. Biden made the sign of the cross after a few moments.
Alexander is a family friend of the Goldberg-Polin family. American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7 at the Nova Music Festival. His body was recovered by Israeli forces in late August.
Biden also spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog earlier Monday to express his “deepest condolences” to Israelis and families of the Oct. 7 attack, the White House said.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Air alert sirens sounded across central Israel on Monday due to a missile launch from Yemen, the Israel Defense Forces said.
“The air force successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen,” the force wrote on X.
Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly targeted Israel using missiles and drones. Israel has launched airstrikes on Houthi military and infrastructure sites in response.
Two more powerful strikes hit Beirut on Monday morning as Israel’s air campaign continued, including one that impacted close to the city’s international airport.
The strikes sent towering pillars of smoke and dust rising above the capital and Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
The airport is located south of the city center close to the Dahiya suburb, which is known as a Hezbollah stronghold and has borne the brunt of Israel’s attacks on the city.
Beirut’s airport is still functioning despite nearby airstrikes, though major international carriers have frozen operations there due to the deteriorating security situation.
Lebanon-based Middle East Airlines now accounts for most flights landing at and departing the airport, which was bombed by Israeli warplanes in 2006 during the last major cross-border conflict.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Morgan Winsor
Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the first anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack by calling on the international community to “condemn Iran’s support for Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region that are responsible for so much death, destruction and instability.”
“Today, we mark a devastating and tragic anniversary,” Blinken said in a statement published by the State Department. “The depravity of Hamas’ crimes is almost unspeakable.”
The Oct. 7 attack “unleashed a year of conflict, with tragic consequences for the Palestinian people,” Blinken said.
“The United States mourns the death of every innocent who died on Oct. 7 and in the year since. It is time to reach a ceasefire agreement that brings the hostages home, alleviates the suffering of the Israeli and Palestinian people and ultimately brings an end to this war.”
Blinken called on other nations to “stand steadfast in the face of terrorism and violent extremism, including the sources of support for groups like Hamas,” specifically Iran.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to lasting peace and stability across the region and for a common future for Israelis and Palestinians with equal measures of security, dignity, opportunity and freedom,” Blinken added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a ceremony at the “Iron Swords” monument in Jerusalem to commemorate Israelis killed since Oct. 7, 2023.
The monument was unveiled in September to remember those from Jerusalem killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and in the subsequent fighting.
“On this day, in this place, and in many places in our country, we remember our fallen, our abductees — whom we are obliged to return — and our heroes who fell for the defense of the homeland and the country,” Netanyahu said.
“We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we stood up as a people, as lions.”
“A nation of wolves will rise and a lion will soar,” Netanyahu said.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
