As if the people of Israel needed another reminder of the devastating catastrophe it endured a year ago on October 7, multiple rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday. However, like the 200 missiles launched from Iran, but unlike the nation’s Iron Dome that intercepted most of the missiles, the Israeli Air Force intercepted the five launches. According to the Jerusalem Post, only two people were injured after being hit by shrapnel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote on X that “Sirens sounded in Israeli communities surrounding Gaza a few moments ago. At exactly this time last year, sirens were sounded all over Israel, marking the beginning of Hamas’ October 7 massacre.”
Before the attack this week, the IDF said its troops had struck “Hamas terror targets and launchers throughout the Gaza Strip,” and thus thwarted any “immediate threat.”
The IDF reported that the Israel Air Force successfully targeted and hit an underground Hamas infrastructure. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a memorial in Jerusalem on Monday for civilians and saluted first responders and troops killed in the 2023 Hamas attack.
“We remember our fallen; our hostages—whom we are committed to return; our heroes who fell in defense of our homeland and country. We went through a terrible massacre a year ago and we arose as a nation as lions,” Netanyahu said.
Vice President Kamala Harris called the attack “an act of pure evil.” She recited the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning, and talked about “our enduring belief in God, even in our darkest moments.”
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted a memorial ceremony and lit a candle that they placed on a small table at the center of the White House Blue Room before they observed a moment of silence.