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Twenty people were wounded after a drone exploded in northern Israel. The Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. will deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Israel to bolster air defenses against Iran. Netanyahu's government is not seeking to revive negotiations for a hostage release deal and is pushing for the gradual annexation of large parts of Gaza, senior defense officials told Haaretz. UNIFIL, the UN's peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, reported additional "shocking" Israeli violations against its positions. PM Netanyahu called on the UN to withdraw UNIFIL soldiers from "Hezbollah strongholds" in southern Lebanon but also said he regretted "any harm done to UNIFIL personnel." Israel's president said that an investigation "into the failure and tragedy" of the October 7 attack must be conducted without delay.
Here's what you need to know 373 days into the war
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What happened today
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■ ISRAEL-LEBANON: The IDF ordered the residents of 21 southern Lebanese villages to evacuate north of the Awali River, and said it attacked some 200 Hezbollah targets, killed dozens of Hezbollah members and uncovered terror tunnel shafts.
- Over 170 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on Sunday, the IDF said.
- UNIFIL, the UN's peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said that it had reported additional "shocking violations" by Israel against its positions in the country, including what it described as the forcible entry of Israeli tanks through its main gate on Sunday. It added that 15 peacekeepers were affected by smoke emitted after Israeli forces fired several rounds at the same position, and that it has requested an explanation from the IDF.
- The IDF said that Israeli tanks drove towards the UNIFIL position to evacuate soldiers wounded by anti-tank fire, and that "during the incident, there was no threat to the UNIFIL force from IDF activities," adding that "the IDF maintained continued contact with UNIFIL." It claimed that the smoke shelling during the incident was dibe to screen the activity of the troops and help facilitate the evacuation of the wounded soldiers.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has told PM Netanyahu that attacks on UNIFIL are unacceptable in a phone conversation, her office said, adding that Meloni also called for the "full implementation" of the UN's Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls on Hezbollah to evacuate southern Lebanon, and stressed the urgent need for a de-escalation of conflict in the region.
- Netanyahu said he told Meloni that he regrets "any harm done to UNIFIL personnel," and that "Israel will make every effort to prevent UNIFIL casualties and will do what it takes to win the war," Netanyahu said on X.
- Netanyahu called on the UN secretary-general to remove UNIFIL forces "from Hezbollah strongholds" in the area, adding that "your refusal to withdraw UNIFIL soldiers turns them into hostages of Hezbollah," then claiming UNIFIL provides "a human shield for Hezbollah militants" which jeopardizes "the lives of our soldiers."
- The IDF said that a Hezbollah militant was taken captive in a tunnel in southern Lebanon, interrogated and transferred to a detention facility in Israel.
- The IDF struck in the southern Lebanese village of Ayta ash-Sha'b, the Saudi news agency Al-Hadath reported.
- Hezbollah has about a third of its stockpile of medium and short-range missiles left, Israeli security officials told ministers at a cabinet meeting, according to a source at the meeting.
- Wizz Air has announced it is pausing all flights to and from Israel until at least October 23. Additionally, Warsaw-based LOT Polish Airlines said it would extend its flight cancellations until November 1. Air Europa announced it would renew flights to Israel on October 21, ten days before it had previously planned. The decision follows the decision by the EU aviation agency, EASA, to cancel its recommendation against flights to Israel.
■ ISRAEL-IRAN: The Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. will deploy an anti-ballistic missile system and crew to Israel, intended to bolster the country's air defenses in preparation for a possible strike in Iran and a potential Iranian response. It would be the first time the system, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), is operationally deployed in Israel.
- Israel has refined its list of potential Iranian targets and will concentrate on military and energy infrastructure, U.S. officials told NBC. The report noted that while there is no indication Israel plans to target nuclear facilities or conduct assassinations, no final decision has been made.
- Iran has "no red lines" when it comes to defending its people and interests, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, adding that "while we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests."
- Israel's Tax Authority's preliminary estimate is that property damage due to the Iranian ballistic missile attack in early October will reach 150-200 million shekels ($40 million to $53 million).
■ HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: The Israeli government is not seeking to revive hostage release talks and is pushing for the gradual annexation of large parts of Gaza, senior defense officials told Haaretz.
- The officials added that chances of reaching a hostage deal appear slim, as negotiations are suspended, including among international players involved in the talks, and Israel's political leaders have not held any discussions with the defense establishment about the condition of the hostages.
- IDF commanders in the field who spoke with Haaretz say the recent decision to launch operations in northern Gaza was taken without any in-depth discussion, and that it appears that the operations were aimed principally at pressuring Gazans, who were again told to evacuate the area for the coast as winter is approaching.
■ GAZA: Documents located by the IDF in Gaza reveal that years before October 7, Hamas planned a large-scale attack on Israel that included the blowing up of iconic skyscrapers in Tel Aviv, the Washington Post reported, adding that the plan included a combined attack from several fronts at the same time.
- An Israeli drone strike near a cafe in the Al-Shati area in northern Gaza killed five children, the Palestinian news agency WAFA and Hamas-affiliated media reported.
- The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza said at least 42,227 Palestinians were killed and 98,464 wounded since the start of the war.
"Hostility in the Arab world toward Palestinian citizens of Israel is evident in the widely accepted portrayal of Arabs within the Green Line as 'tamed' or 'Judaized' in the best case, and traitors in the worst. Palestinians across the border (in the West Bank and Gaza) often regard those who remained in Israel after 1948 with suspicion, rarely as true Palestinians. Since the beginning of the war in October 2023, several Arab towns in both the Upper and Lower Galilee have endured Hezbollah missile strikes, including Deir Al-Asad, Sakhnin, Kafr Manda, Nazareth and many others. While the citizens of these towns attempt to clarify that these are Arab cities, not settlements, others seem to dismiss their concerns, suggesting that it's the price they must pay for living where they do" – Nagham Zbeedat
■ ISRAEL: Twenty people were wounded after a drone exploded near the city of Binyamina in central Israel, emergency services said, adding that five were in critical condition.
- Government ministers lashed out during a cabinet meeting at 130 conscript and reserve soldiers who had signed a letter last week stating that they would refuse to continue serving if Netanyahu does not strive to reach a hostage release deal, sources familiar with the discussion told Haaretz, adding that Netanyahu claimed that the signatories to this letter had lost, and had actually never had, a "national conscience."
- Netanyahu added that a firm hand must be taken against insubordination, the sources said, adding that Transportation Minister Miri Regev said that these soldiers should be sent to prison.
- In response to Netanyahu's remark, the signatories said: "The one who has lost the national conscience is not us, but the Prime Minister, who has refused for many months to make a deal to release our brothers and sisters taken hostage in Gaza…Any other conduct is a betrayal of the Zionist and IDF ethos we grew up on."
- The IDF has elevated the rank of personnel authorized to approve use of heavy weaponry, such as mortar artillery, amid a squeeze on ammunition and embargoes on arms exports to Israel, sources told Haaretz, adding that the IDF is now adopting a "tight arms economy."
- Israel's President Isaac Herzog said that an investigation "into the failure and tragedy" of the October 7 attack must be conducted without delay.
- The Israeli government has designated the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack as a national day of mourning and remembrance. It will begin on the Jewish calendar date of the attack, starting in the evening of the 24th of Tishrei (October 26) and will continue through October 27.
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Israel declared war after Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israelis and wounded more than 3,300 on October 7. In Gaza, the Hamas-controlled health ministry reports that at least 42,227 Palestinians have been killed. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad hold hostage more than 120 soldiers and civilians, dead and alive, including foreign nationals.
The war comes after ten months of the most significant domestic political and social crisis in decades, due to legislation promoted by the Netanyahu government aimed at dramatically weakening Israel's judiciary and potentially rescuing Netanyahu from the three corruption trials he faces – and amid an escalation of violence between West Bank Palestinians and Israeli settlers, the latter empowered by Israel's most right-wing government ever.
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