Iran announces resumptions of flights

Iran has announced resumption of flights from some of the airports it had put restrictions on earlier today.

Iranian state media says “all flight restrictions are lifted are ensuring favourable and safe conditions”.

Earlier, a spokesman of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization told the state-run IRNA news agency that flights in “some” of the country’s airports will be halted from 9pm to 5am (17:30 to 01:30 GMT). The spokesman had only cited “operational limitations” without elaborating further.

Syria says Israeli air strikes result in ‘material damage’

Syria’s Defence Ministry said Israeli air strikes that targeted its central region caused “material damage”. In a statement, the ministry said Israel attacked Syria from the direction of northern Lebanon, targeting a number of military sites. It did not provide more details.

Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years, but it has ramped up such raids since last year’s October 7 attack.

Gaza officials say 12,000 wounded Palestinians need medical help abroad

According to the Government Media Office, another 3,000 who are critically ill need to leave the besieged coastal enclave to get medical treatment.

At a packed vigil in Tel Aviv, loved ones mourn and an October 7 survivor recalls captivity

Thousands of people joined a vigil Sunday in an area of Tel Aviv known as Hostages Square, where survivors of the October 7 attacks and the families of some of those killed spoke out on the eve of the one-year anniversary.

Survivor Sapir Cohen shared with the crowd, “In captivity, I saw a girl curled up like a fetus, shaking, and a man sitting with his eyes closed for hours, refusing to open them or be part of the situation.”

She described how she had tried to stay positive.

“At that moment, I realized God had sent me to a place where I could do something truly meaningful — I could help the other hostages. From that point on, I didn’t care if I would continue to live or what would happen to me. I simply put all my problems aside and transformed from a fearful person with many anxieties into a strong, confident individual.”

Cohen was released from Hamas captivity after 55 days. Her partner, Sasha Troufanov remains in captivity.

Noam Peri, whose father Chaim Peri was killed in Hamas captivity, also addressed the crowd, recalling how her family had spent the eve of the tragedy:

“For the first time, my father shared his story from the Yom Kippur War with us. It was a sad yet moving evening, with all of us united. At this very hour last year, we were still sitting and listening to him recount that first evening of October 6, 1973, when he traveled from Nir Oz deep into the Sinai. We listened intently, and at the end of the night, we said our goodbyes with hugs, kisses, and great love.”

Chaim Peri was kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7. His body was recovered by the Israeli military along with the bodies of five other hostages in mid-August.

Demonstrations mark anniversary of October 7 attacks — and a year of war since


_{Thousands of protestors gather at Hyde Park to march through the streets of the city in protest against the war in the Middle East and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as the anniversary of October 7th draws near, in Sydney, Australia, on October 6.}

There have been more demonstrations, marches and memorials across the world ahead of the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

Large crowds marched through the streets of Barcelona, Jakarta, Sydney and other cities on Sunday marking a year since the attacks, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel, according to officials in the country. Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry there, and created a dire humanitarian crisis.

Miguel Verdugo, a 72-year-old protester in Barcelona, told Reuters: “We must express that we are against genocide. The least we should all do is protest in every capital city around the world.”

“Violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The occupation, the apartheid that has been going on in Israel of the Palestinian people, the siege of Gaza, the absolute illegal settlement, the brutality in the West Bank, it has to stop,” protester Sam Gazal told Reuters in Sydney.

Meanwhile, there were tributes and memorials for the victims of the Hamas attacks in cities across the world.

Events were held in Berlin, Paris, London and Israel on Sunday, while the Pope led a prayer for peace at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

In Berlin, hundreds of people rallied under the slogan, “United against the crimes of Hamas against Israelis and Palestinians,” Reuters reported.

Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal spoke at the Berlin event, saying of the October 7 victims, “We will never forget them. We stand together with them and we pray to God that the hostages will come home now,” according to Reuters.

In Tel Aviv, people held a vigil at Hostages Square. And there will be a memorial Sunday night at the Nova music festival site, with families of the victims attending.

At least 12 killed by Israeli strikes south of Beirut

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health has said that at least 12 people were killed, including several children, as a result of two Israeli air raids on towns south of Beirut.

More than 20 people were also injured in Sunday’s strikes, which hit the towns of Qmatiyeh and Kayfoun in the Mount Lebanon district.

The Ministry of Health did not provide a breakdown of the casualties, but we previously reported that at least four people were killed and 10 wounded following the strike in Kayfoun.

Witness describes aftermath of Haifa attack

An Israeli man said he heard a loud “boom” in his neighbourhood in Haifa before learning on the radio that there had been an attack in his area.

“I went straight away. First, in the beginning, we didn’t find any injuries, and then I saw [that building]”, the unidentified man said in a video testimony, pointing to a structure that appeared to have blown-out windows.

“I went inside and I found four people injured, between minor to moderate,” he said.

The attack marked the first time that the centre of Haifa has been hit since Israel’s war on Gaza began a year ago. The city is situated on Israel’s Mediterranean Coast, about 30km (19 miles) from the border with Lebanon.

Until now, rockets fired towards the port city from southern Lebanon have been largely intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems.

_{A person stands near debris inside a building after a projectile fell in Haifa, northern Israel October 7}

Attack on Haifa comes on the eve of Hamas’s October 7 attacks

When it comes to the port city of Haifa, the reports are that at least 10 people have been wounded as a result of those five rockets that fell in the centre of the city that were not intercepted by Israeli air defence systems.

In one case, there was a man who fell out of the window of a building because of how much the ground shook from the impact of one of those rockets. Beyond that, a severe injury has also been reported in the northern city of Tiberius as a result of a rocket that had not been intercepted. That person was hit by shrapnel.

The attack on Haifa is significant, not just because it is the biggest city in northern Israel. It is also a major port city. It has a military presence and a population of about 300,000.

And the fact that this can happen in a city like Haifa, in the centre of the city, is something that is going to make Israelis feel particularly vulnerable, on the eve of the October 7 attacks and at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other political leaders continue to say that the wars that they are waging are making the country safer in the long term.

Palestinian solidarity protests – Hundreds of thousands take to the streets in Karachi

Demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people took place around the world on Sunday, a day before the one-year mark of the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

In Pakistan, organisers say hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Karachi demanding Israel end its war on the besieged enclave.

One year of Israel’s war on Gaza

It has been one year of what UN experts have called Israel’s genocide in Gaza: 365 days of unrelenting Israeli bombardment, resulting in one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century.

This has been a war of many firsts, breaking records in scale and brutality.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the conflict, Al Jazeera brings you special coverage of the violence and devastation it’s brought to the youngest and the most vulnerable people in the Gaza Strip.

Dawn breaks in Israel on anniversary of Hamas attacks


_{The scene at the Nova music festival memorial near Re’im in southern Israel on Monday, October 7, 2024}

At just after 5:30 a.m. in Israel, people began gathering at the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas militants murdered 347 people and took 40 others hostage on October 7 last year.

The event Monday in the Negev desert is the first of several gatherings to mark the one-year anniversary of the attacks that killed more than 1,200 people, saw more than 250 taken hostage and triggered Israel’s devastating war in Gaza.

While the atmosphere at the memorial site is somber, reminders of the conflict are ever present. Just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Gaza perimeter, the sound of outgoing artillery rounds echoes through the quiet morning every few minutes as the sun begins to rise.


_{Tributes to those killed in last year's Hamas attacks at the Nova music festival memorial near Re’im in southern Israel on October 7, 2024}

"He was the glue of our family": Cousin pays tribute to man killed at Nova festival


_{Friends and family members of Mor Meir Trabalsi gathered at the site of the Nova Music Festival}

Hundreds of family members and friends are gathering for a ceremony honoring those killed in Hamas’ attack at the site of the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7.

Danielle Cohen, whose cousin Mor Meir Trabalsi was murdered while trying to escape the attack, attended alongside several friends and family members. The group, all wearing blue t-shirts with Trabalsi’s name and photograph printed on them, gathered at a small memorial to honor him, one of hundreds erected on the site.

Trabalsi was shot dead while driving his wife and friends away from the festival. He told everyone in the car to duck down and kept going — likely saving their lives while losing his.

The survivors, including his new wife, were trapped in the car with Trabalsi’s body for about five hours before the Israeli army rescued them, Cohen said.

“He was 27 years old and got married just one month before,” Cohen told CNN. “He was the best cousin that you can wish that you would have. He was the glue of our family.”

Cohen said Trabalsi’s wedding was the biggest she’s ever been to, with more than 800 people attending.

“It’s unusual for Israeli weddings to be that big, but Mor had more friends than people I know in my life. He was that person that is always surrounded by friends, and everybody wanted to be his friend,” she said, a tear rolling down her face.

“Looking back, the wedding was like a big farewell party for him.”

“It’s still unimaginable”: co-founder of Nova music festival tells CNN


_{This aerial photo shows the site of the attack on the Nova music festival by Hamas militants in southern Israel, on October 10}

Everything changed at 6:29 a.m. on October 7 last year at the Nova music festival in the Negev desert, said event co-founder Ofir Amir.

“A year has passed but we still feel like we are on October 7, (like) it was just a long day that never ends,” Amir told CNN’s Bianna Golodryga.

“The dance floor is supposed to be the safest place on Earth where it doesn’t matter where you come from, you can be whatever you want to be. We believe that when you are on the dance floor it doesn’t matter who you are, what religion, what color we all the same,” he said.

“It’s still unimaginable what happened on that day.”

Amir, who was shot in both legs, was among the last people to leave the festival site.

Hamas fighters killed 347 people and took others hostage at the festival on October 7 last year, according to the Israeli military.

Also speaking to CNN, Yariv Mozer, director of “We Will Dance Again” — a documentary on the festival attack — said it was important to chronicle how the events unfolded, minute-by-minute, using footage from survivors and videos taken by Hamas fighters as evidence of the brutality they faced that day.

Weekend demonstrations marked anniversary of October 7 attacks


_{A long roll of paper containing the names of people killed in the Israeli occupation is seen carried by protesters in Plaza de Catalunya during the rally in Barcelona, Spain, on October 6.}

There were demonstrations, marches and memorials across the world this weekend ahead of the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.

Large crowds marched through the streets of Barcelona, Jakarta, Sydney, and other cities on Sunday, marking a year since the attacks, which killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry there, and created a dire humanitarian crisis.

Miguel Verdugo, a 72-year-old protester in Barcelona, told Reuters: “We must express that we are against genocide. The least we should all do is protest in every capital city around the world.”

“Violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The occupation, the apartheid that has been going on in Israel of the Palestinian people, the siege of Gaza, the absolute illegal settlement, the brutality in the West Bank, it has to stop,” protester Sam Gazal told Reuters in Sydney.

There were tributes and memorials for the victims of the Hamas attacks in cities across the world.

Events were held in Berlin, Paris, London and Israel on Sunday, while the Pope led a prayer for peace at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.

In Berlin, hundreds of people rallied under the slogan, “United against the crimes of Hamas against Israelis and Palestinians,” Reuters reported.

Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal spoke at the Berlin event, saying of the October 7 victims:

“We will never forget them. We stand together with them and we pray to God that the hostages will come home now,” according to Reuters.

In Tel Aviv, Thousands gathered for a vigil marking the anniversary, where loved ones mourned victims and survivors shared their stories. Protesters are urging Israel’s government to secure a deal to free the remaining hostages.

“We need them to come home”: mother of hostage urges for resolution


_{Idit Ohel, mother of Israeli-Serbian citizen Alon Ohel, who is being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, holds the portrait of her son during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, on September 11.}

Idit Ohel, mother of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, said she was out walking the dog on the morning of October 7 when her family began to realize that something had happened at the Nova music festival.

At around 8 a.m. her son sent a message saying he was in a bomb shelter but was fine. A few hours later, they received a phone call saying he was sent to a hospital. But when her husband arrived there, they received news that Alon had been kidnapped alive and taken to Gaza.

Ohel told CNN’s Bianna Golodryga “what Hamas did is not human,” and urged governments around the world to help rescue hostages still held in Gaza.

“We need them to come home. We need everybody to be there for us and do everything in their power to bring them home.”

Ohel said her son “was the glue” that brought her family together, and said he loved music and playing the piano.

“Alon just went to the Nova festival, trying to have fun and was taken from Israeli land, and he did nothing wrong,” Ohel said. “And I say to everyone, to every mother, Alon is not just my son, he’s everyone’s son.

“He just loves life,” Ohel said of her son. “He came back home, a month and a half before he was kidnapped, from traveling over Asia. And in meeting people and finding interesting, different kinds of food.”

Heartbroken families recount horror of Nova festival attack on October 7 anniversary

The song that played as Hamas militants stormed the Nova music festival last year was replayed Monday during a memorial for those killed at the site in the October 7 attacks.

In an emotional moment for family and friends of those killed and kidnapped to Gaza, the track was played – and then stopped abruptly – at the same time as last year.

Many of those gathered at the memorial cried, hugged and comforted each other while recalling their loved ones’ final moments.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog attended the ceremony, speaking to families of those murdered here and walking through the memorial field.

The family of Gabriel Barel — his three brothers, mother and best friend — huddled around a portrait of Barel planted amid hundreds of similar memorials.

Barel was 22 when he was killed at the festival. For weeks after the massacre, his family didn’t know what happened to him. He was shot while driving away from the site and the car was subsequently burned, which made identifying his remains extremely difficult.

His brother Yeoda Barel said Gabriel was not meant to go to the party.

“He didn’t have a ticket, but he managed to sneak in and danced all night,” he said.

Yeoda said Gabriel left the festival shortly after the first rockets were fired from Gaza, when he got a call from his mother in the city of Ashkelon.

“She was on her own and was scared from the rockets, so he was going to go to her. He was concerned about her, not himself,” Yeoda, the youngest of Gabriel’s brothers, told CNN.

Yeoda and Gabriel’s best friend from the military, Noam, said he was a fun-loving guy, always surrounded by friends and saving up for a big trip to South America.

To pay tribute to Gabriel’s outgoing personality, the group gathered around his portrait and took a selfie, smiling for the camera.

"I miss him every day,” Yeoda said.

Israel’s kibbutz Be’eri became the symbol of Hamas’ brutality. Some survivors are determined to return

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/06/world/israel-kibbutz-beeri-october-7-rebuild-intl-cmd/index.html

Scorch marks and bullet holes scar the battered walls of the Haran family home in kibbutz Be’eri. Its tiled roof has caved in, windows smashed, littering the floors with sharp shards of terracotta and glass – the debris, still untouched, of a day of horror for Israel.

“This house tells the story of Be’eri,” says Yarden Tzemach, a farmer and surviving resident of the kibbutz, one of the Israeli communities near Gaza that was overrun by Hamas militants last year.

“In this house, people were murdered. A family, including three children, were kidnapped from here,” he says.

Outside, beneath the fruit trees in the back yard, a toddler’s ride-on toy car, adorned with stickers of Winnie the Pooh, sits amid the rubble, a stark reminder of the lives shattered here.

In some neighborhoods of Be’eri, barely a building was left intact. More than 100 of its 1,100 residents were killed and another 30 abducted to Gaza on October 7.

Home after home was burned out or reduced to rubble and – a year on – many remain as poignant monuments to an ongoing trauma. At least 10 residents of the kibbutz, all friends and neighbors of each other, are among the more than 100 Israelis believed to still be held hostage.

Nearly 100 residents to have so far returned, with some working to bring kibbutz Be’eri, formerly a self-sustaining farming community, back to life.

October 7 attack was “a scar on humanity,” Israel’s president says


_{The President of Israel Isaac Herzog and his wife visit relatives of victims and attend the one year memorial ceremony at the Nova festival memorial to mark one the first anniversary since Hamas attacked one year ago, in Re’im, Israel, on October 7.}

Israeli President Isaac Herzog was among those holding commemorations this morning at the Nova festival site, where he described the October 7 attacks as a “scar on the face of the Earth” and called for countries to support Israel.

Herzog also laid a wreath and lit memorial candles in honor of those killed at the site a year ago, accompanied by their bereaved families.

“October 7, 2023, is a day that should be remembered in infamy, when thousands of cruel terrorists broke into our homes, violated our families, burned, chopped, raped, and hijacked and abducted our citizens, our brothers and sisters, and with them, people from 36 different nationalities,” Herzog said.

The atmosphere at the memorial site was somber as family members, friends of victims and survivors consoled each other.

“Blessed be those who fell, who were murdered and killed here. Young people who came to celebrate and enjoy dance and music — to live a real life of young people as any young person should be entitled to. Let us remember them forever. Let us pray, with remorse, pain, bereavement, and condolences to their families,” Hertzog said.

Families of Israeli hostages sound 2-minute siren outside Netanyahu’s residence


_{Protesters march towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence, to mark one year since the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas, in Jerusalem, October 7.}

Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have sounded a siren for two minutes outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem to urge him to bring back their loved ones, marking one year since they were kidnapped by Hamas.

Following Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage, the families have campaigned relentlessly for the Israeli government to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would secure the release of their loved ones.

On Monday, the relatives spoke about the immense grief and trauma they have experienced, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“A year has passed since that Saturday morning when my parents woke up in panic and ran to the safe room. A year since terrorists infiltrated the kibbutz. A year of mortal fear that no one can understand,” said Shir Siegel, whose parents were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

Siegel’s mother, Aviva Siegel, was released after two months in captivity, but her father, Keith Siegel, remains a hostage.

“A year has passed since I imagined my parents coming home and us hugging. A year has passed, but it feels like one long day,” Siegel said.

Some relatives also expressed messages of hope and resilience.

“Omeri, my life. I miss you. I feel your absence with every breath, every moment in my body,” said Niva Wenkert, whose son Omer was kidnapped at the Nova music festival last year.

“We’re not giving up, my life, I’m not giving up for a second,” she said. “We’re here, we’ll win until you’re home.”

“Time has stopped here”: Kibbutz Nir Oz holds somber October 7 memorial


_{A memorial ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of the October 7 terror attack in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7}

A memorial ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack has ended in Israel’s Kibbutz Nir Oz, just a few miles from Gaza.

The agricultural commune of 400 people was among the worst impacted by the attack, with one in four residents murdered or kidnapped.

The Bibas family — husband and wife Yarden and Shiri, their young son Ariel, and baby Kfir — were among those kidnapped on that day. They, along with more than 20 others from the kibbutz, are still being held in Gaza.

In a particularly poignant moment, the names of those murdered in the kibbutz last year were read aloud. The speakers struggled to get through the long list of names, pausing to take a moment when their emotions became too raw.

“We cannot move on when people from the kibbutz are still there, Amat Moshe, whose grandparents were residents of the kibbutz, told CNN before the event started.

"Time has stopped here.”

Last October, Moshe’s grandmother Adina watched the as Hamas fighters stormed her home and murdered her husband David before kidnapping her to Gaza. She was released as part of a ceasefire deal in November last year.

Most of Nir Oz’s residents have yet to return, living together in the town of Kiryat Gat, about an hour’s drive away. Only six have come back.

_{President of Israel Isaac Herzog and First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog, right and center, speak with released hostages from Kibbutz Nir Oz ahead of a ceremony to mark the first anniversary since the Hamas attacks on Israel.}

Israeli President Isaac Herzog was among those present at the commemoration. He also attended a memorial held at the Nova festival site earlier in the morning.

As people gathered to mark the anniversary, the Israeli military reported that several projectiles were fired from Gaza toward Israel. Throughout the morning, the sounds of outgoing artillery fire could be heard, as the military continued striking targets inside Gaza.