Israel on alert ahead of October 7 anniversary, prepares response against Iran
The Israeli army is on alert on Sunday, for fear of attacks, on the eve of the first anniversary of the Hamas attack, and is preparing a response to the salvo of missiles fired by Iran, support of the Islamist movement Palestinian and Lebanese Hezbollah. Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also affirmed his determination to strike “without respite” Hezbollah, against which it has recently intensified its offensive. “This week we will commemorate the anniversary of the war and October 7 (2023). We are ready to increase our forces in preparation for that day.for fear of attacks, assured Saturday evening the spokesperson for the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, without further details.
In a message on the occasion of this anniversary, Israeli President Isaac Herzog denounced “the permanent threat posed to the State by Iran and its terrorist proxies, (…) determined to destroy our one and only nation-State”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to deliver a speech to the nation on Monday to mark the anniversary of the attack, which sparked the war in Gaza. The unprecedented Hamas assault resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, shot, burned alive or mutilated, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures, including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Of the 251 people kidnapped then, 97 are still hostages in Gaza: 64 presumed alive and 33 dead.
