The Japan Times - Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'

Netanyahu told troops Israel "will win" as it battles militants in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and prepares to strike Iran, almost exactly a year since the unprecedented attack by Palestinian Hamas militants sparked the Gaza war.

In late September Israel turned its focus north, intensifying military action against Iran-backed Hezbollah which had been sending rockets over the border from Lebanon in support of Hamas for nearly 12 months.

"A year ago, we suffered a terrible blow. Over the past 12 months, we have completely transformed reality," Netanyahu told troops during a visit to the Lebanon border, his office said.

"The whole world admires the blows you are delivering to our enemies, and I salute you", he said. "Together, we will fight, and together we will win -- with God's help."

In the Palestinian territory, Israel's military said it had encircled the northern area of Jabaliya after indications Hamas was rebuilding despite nearly a year of devastating air strikes and fighting.

Rescuers said 17 people, including nine children, were killed on Sunday by Israeli air strikes on the area.

Netanyahu had vowed to "crush... and destroy" Hamas last October, but troops have returned to several areas across Gaza where they had previously conducted operations against Hamas, only to find militants regrouping.

- Policewoman killed -

As another strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati appealed to the international community to put pressure on Israel for a ceasefire.

Israel is on high alert ahead of the October 7 anniversary, which the military said could lead to "attacks on the home front".

In southern Israel's Beersheba central bus station, a border policewoman was killed and 10 other people injured, first responders said. Police called it a suspected "terrorist" attack and said the assailant was killed.

Iran on Sunday said it had prepared a plan to hit back against any possible Israeli attack, before Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned Iran it could end up looking like Gaza or Beirut.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said more than 30 strikes hit Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold overnight into Sunday. Shopkeeper Mehdi Zeiter, 60, said they "were like an earthquake."

A petrol station and medical warehouse were hit, NNA said.

"It was the most violent night... there were strikes everywhere. They are not hitting military targets, but civilian ones," Zeiter said.

Israel's military said it struck weapons storage facilities and infrastructure while taking measures "to mitigate the risk of harming civilians".

AFPTV footage showed a massive fireball over a residential area, followed by a loud bang and secondary explosions. Smoke was still billowing from the site after dawn.

Amid the fighting, Hezbollah continued attacks on Israel, saying on Sunday it launched attack drones towards a military base near the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

- 'Ongoing threat' -

Last year's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

On Sunday the army said rockets fired from northern Gaza had crossed into Israel, with one intercepted and the rest falling on open areas.

The army on Saturday said it had killed about 440 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon "from the ground and from the air" since Monday, when troops began what it called targeted ground operations.

Hezbollah in 2021 claimed it had 100,000 combatants, while analysts spoke of about half that many.

Israel says it aims to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by almost a year of Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel to return home.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Iran an "ongoing threat" after Tehran, which backs armed groups across the Middle East, launched around 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in revenge for Israeli killings of militant leaders including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli officials including Netanyahu have said Israel will respond to Iran's missile barrage, most of which was intercepted by the country's sophisticated air defences.

Iran has prepared its own plan to respond to a possible Israeli attack, Tasnim news agency reported, citing an informed source.

A senior Hezbollah source said Saturday the group had lost contact with Hashem Safieddine, widely tipped as its next leader, after air strikes in Beirut.

The movement has yet to name a new chief after Israel assassinated Nasrallah late last month in a massive strike in Lebanon's capital.

Across Lebanon, strikes against Hezbollah have killed more than 1,110 people since September 23, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

- Foreigners flee -

UN refugee agency head Filippo Grandi said Lebanon "faces a terrible crisis" and warned "hundreds of thousands of people are left destitute or displaced by Israeli air strikes".

Lebanon's Director General of Education Imad Achkar said on Sunday that 40 percent of Lebanon's 1.25 million school pupils had been displaced by Israel's strikes.

Numerous countries, including Australia, the United States, Brazil, China and Russia have been evacuating their nationals from Lebanon.

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators tried unsuccessfully for months to reach a Gaza truce and secure the release of 97 hostages still held there.

Critics of Netanyahu accuse him of obstructing efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and a deal to free hostages still held by Hamas.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday an Israeli strike on a mosque-turned-shelter in central Deir el-Balah killed 26 people. Israel said it had targeted Hamas militants.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,870 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry and described as reliable by the UN.

Ahead of the October 7 anniversary, thousands joined pro-Palestinian rallies in London, Cape Town, Rabat and other cities.

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S.Yamamoto--JT