Israel-Iran war latest: Hamas rockets strike central Israel
Updated 3:15 PM Oct. 7, 2024
Hamas has hit central Israel with a barrage of rockets as Israel commemorates the one year anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
Medics said two women in their 30s were lightly wounded by shrapnel and taken to Asaf Harofeh Hospital, which is roughly 9 miles southeast of Tel Aviv.
The IDF said the rockets were launched from the Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Air alerts were sounded in some areas of Tel Aviv, as well as Holon, Rishon Lezion, Bat Yam and other central towns.
Earlier, Hamas fired rockets from Gaza at Israeli border communities as they began commemorations marking the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks on southern Israel.
The IDF announced it foiled a Hamas plan to fire a much larger barrage, saying its fighter jets struck rocket launchers and tunnels across Gaza from where the terror group had planned to initiate the attack.
‘We stand by your side,’ German chancellor tells Israel
The German chancellor has declared his support for Israel’s battle against Hamas.
“We feel with you the horror, the pain, the uncertainty and the sadness. We stand by your side,” Olaf Scholz said. “The Hamas terrorists must be fought.”
Mr Scholz also drew attention to the plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, saying a year of war had brought “unimaginable suffering” and that “people need hope and perspectives if they are to renounce terror”.
He also said Berlin was committed to a ceasefire, the liberation of Israeli hostages from Gaza and for a political process even if it seemed “more distant today than ever”.
David Lammy: Oct 7 is a day of deep reflection and pain
David Lammy has said the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel is “a day of deep reflection and pain”.
The Foreign Secretary told reporters at the South Tottenham synagogue: “This is a painful day for the Jewish community across this country and across the diaspora.”
He added: “It is a day of deep reflection and pain thinking about October 7, the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust.
“And of course, thinking about the many hostages that are still held in Gaza and their loved ones and their pain.
“And particularly we think of Emily Damari, the British hostage, and her family have no word of her fate or how she is doing.”