October 6, 2024 - Israeli strikes pound Beirut and Hezbollah rockets hit Haifa

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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.

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.

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.

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.”

This post’s headline has been updated with more information.

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.

US Vice President Kamala Harris will mark Monday’s one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks in Israel at her Naval Observatory residence, where, along with second gentleman Doug Emhoff, she’ll plant a memorial tree, according to a White House official.

Second families have traditionally planted trees on the grounds of the vice president’s residence. Monday’s planting of a pomegranate tree — which, among other things, represents hope and righteousness in Judaism — will mark the first for Harris and Emhoff while they’ve been at the residence, according to the official.

The escalating violence in the Middle East has been one of the thorniest issues for Harris as she’s taken over the Democratic ticket this year. Arab American advocates and leaders have pushed for the vice president to distance herself from President Joe Biden’s Israel policy, including during a meeting in Michigan on Friday.

Read more about Harris’ stance on the Middle East crisis.

Flights resumed in Iran late on Sunday night as authorities lifted aviation restrictions just two hours after they were imposed, state media reported.

Earlier, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization had said flights at the country’s airports would be canceled overnight Sunday into Monday, and its airspace partially closed due to “military exercises” nightly until at least October 9.

The temporary restrictions were implemented ahead of the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel and as Israel mulls its retaliation to an Iranian missile barrage last week.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it struck multiple Hezbollah targets in Beirut Sunday evening.

Flames and smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, early Sunday, October 6.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) said it conducted strikes on Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters, a weapons storage facility and other sites in Beirut, and also hit Hezbollah targets in the Beqaa area of southern Lebanon including storage facilities, a command center and a launcher.

The IDF said Hezbollah had “deliberately embedded” its command centers and weapons storage facilities under residential buildings in Beirut, endangering civilians.

A CNN team witnessed multiple explosions lighting up the skies of Beirut Sunday night.

Hezbollah said it also launched a barrage of rockets at northern Israel Sunday night.

Israeli rescue force members inspect the site where a projectile fell in Haifa, northern Israel, on Sunday.

At least five people were injured in Haifa on Sunday following a Hezbollah rocket attack that appeared to mark the first time the Iran-backed militant group has struck the northern Israeli city in its ongoing conflict with Israel.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it launched the rockets at Israel’s Carmel military base, while Israeli authorities reported rockets and shrapnel dropping around the city.

Haifa’s Rambam Hospital said it was treating six people who were impacted by the attack. One person was “lightly to moderately injured” and four others were “lightly injured” due to shrapnel, it said. A sixth person was being treated for anxiety, it added.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said it treated two people at the scene — a 13-year-old boy with a head injury caused by shrapnel and a 22-year-old man who was hit by a window that fell due to the blast.

Debris and shrapnel were reported by police and bomb disposal experts in two primary areas, according to the police.

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier that it had spotted five projectiles fired toward the city and tried to intercept them, but several of the rockets landed.

Israeli officials say Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets across the border Sunday. Israel continued with its extensive bombing campaign on southern Beirut and surrounding areas in Lebanon, which has killed more than 1,400 people over the past two weeks, according to Lebanese authorities.

Video shows damage from the attack:

Video shows aftermath of missile strike in Haifa, Israel

00:44 • Source: CNN

Video shows aftermath of missile strike in Haifa, Israel

00:44

CNN’s Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.

This post has been updated with additional details about the rocket attack.

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.

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.

Israel's Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon on Sunday.

The Israel Defense Forces says over 120 projectiles have been fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israeli territory Sunday.

In Beirut this evening, a CNN team witnessed multiple explosions on the skyline.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli aircraft had targeted the Roueiss area in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Remember: Israel has launched an extensive bombing campaign against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which has a significant presence in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital. Israeli bombing has forced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people to flee.

Hezbollah has been firing rockets back across the border into northern Israel, where tens of thousands of residents have also been displaced.

Flames and smoke rise from a destroyed building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday.

The Israeli military called for more evacuations in southern Lebanon late Sunday after pounding southern Beirut and surrounding areas with some of its most intense bombing of the current campaign against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

The announcement echoed a series of previous warnings, now affecting a total of 124 villages, as Israel says it is striking Hezbollah targets embedded in civilian areas. That has forced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people to flee the onslaught, and more than 1,400 have been killed so far, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have vowed retaliation for Iran’s largest-ever attack on the country — a missile barrage launched last Tuesday — and have begun a new military operation in northern Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces says it saw signs of Hamas regrouping.

Here are the latest developments in the region:

United Nations peacekeepers are “deeply concerned” over recent Israel Defense Forces activities near their position in southern Lebanon, according to a statement posted on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) X account on Sunday.

UNIFIL stated that these activities took place within Lebanese territory at their position just southeast of the village of Maroun El-Ras village.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told CNN that they are endangered because of the exchanges of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah: “Our position is in between, and they have installed a post close to our base.” So, both Hezbollah and the IDF are putting them in danger, Tenenti added.

The UNIFIL X post noted that it has repeatedly raised the issue with the IDF through established communication channels. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammad Afif announced that the group had engaged in clashes with the IDF in Maroun El-Ras.

A Palestinian man speaks to CNN in Jabalya, northern Gaza, on October 6.

Several Palestinian fathers told CNN their families cannot face another wave of displacement, as Israeli forces launched renewed aerial and ground attacks in northern Gaza.

CNN footage from Jabalya showed boys riding bicycles and vendors manning thinly stocked market stalls on Sunday. Echoes of young children fill the area, as woman walk wearily along the dusty pathway. The Israeli military told people to evacuate Gaza’s north to the Israeli-designated “humanitarian area” of Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis.

But residents say they are wary of attempting to flee the besieged neighborhood in search of refuge, citing numerous Israeli attacks targeting Hamas militants in Israeli-designated “safe zones.”

“I will die and not go to the south,” he said, adding that he was trying to protect 20 other relatives from Israel’s bombardment. “We are resisting and will not leave the north, even if I die here.”

The Israeli offensive in Gaza since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks has displaced 1.9 million people, according to the UN. On Sunday, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees warned that the enclave “has become a place unfit for humans,” citing destruction, hunger and disease.

“They have humiliated us and lied to us… My entire family lives in the south in a tent, and they are not safe at all,” Mohammad Ibrahim, a father-of-two in Jabalya, told CNN over the phone.

The history teacher said he would rather stay with his two sons at their home, preferring to die “with dignity.”

Khader Al-Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed reporting.

Palestinian women react upon identifying the bodies of victims of an Israeli strike that targeted a mosque-turned-shelter in Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital on October 6.

Israeli airstrikes early Sunday morning targeted a school and mosque that were converted into shelters in central Gaza, overwhelming nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital with casualties.

The hospital received 53 injured patients and 22 bodies of those killed in the attack on the shelters in Deir Al-Balah, according to a statement from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders.

Al-Aqsa hospital is one of the few remaining operational health care facilities in Gaza, the MSF statement noted. The aid group urged officials to reach a ceasefire to alleviate the ongoing suffering in Gaza, where it says 80% of the more than 27,600 patients MSF has treated during the conflict suffered from wounds linked to shelling.

More on the strikes: Earlier Sunday, hospital officials confirmed to CNN that at least 25 people were killed after Israeli airstrikes targeted the mosque and school.

CNN footage from Al-Aqsa hospital captured the grief of a mother crouched over her deceased son, crying and wailing, “My love, my son. My love, my son.”

The Israeli military has stated it was targeting a Hamas “command and control” center that was “embedded within the compound” it struck Sunday, and said it had taken steps to “mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”

Ali Ghosn made a dangerous trip Sunday. He headed to the southern Lebanese city of Tyre to deliver food, despite the Israeli military warning people not to drive in that direction.

“All the markets, cafes and shops are closed. Even the clinics and pharmacies are closed, and if you want a loaf of bread you have to drive north to Sidon,” he said, referring to the coastal city halfway between Beirut and Tyre.

Troubled by this situation, he now helps the remaining Tyre residents get much-needed supplies and assists others with urgent errands. Some residents entrust him with their keys, so he can go fetch belongings from their deserted homes.

Over 1 million people have been displaced in recent weeks due to Israel’s intense bombardment of villages in southern Lebanon and southern Beirut. Schools in main cities have been turned into shelters, but many people remain camped out in the streets unable to find housing.

Ghosn took his family out of the border area when the increased hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel began last year. His family’s displacement makes him understand what others are going through now, he explained. He doesn’t always ask to be paid for his services:

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 28, 2023.

Israel is closely coordinating with the United States as it prepares to strike back at Iran, but will make its own, independent decisions about how to retaliate, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told CNN.

Even as the US has made clear it opposes a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Gallant said Israel has not ruled out any of its options.

“Israel has capabilities to hit targets near and far — we have proved it. We will respond to the Iranian attack appropriately. We will not stand by and neither should the international community,” Gallant said.

Gallant has become one of Israel’s key interlocutors with the US, speaking frequently with Austin and top White House officials. He also met Sunday with Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of US Central Command, to discuss Israel’s planned retaliation against Iran.

Gallant also touted the success of Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah so far, saying Israel has “dismantled a major part of their capabilities” and that Hezbollah now faces “a lack of command and control.”

The defense minister said the ground operation remains limited to targeting Hezbollah positions closer to the border, even as the operation has expanded in recent days.

Gallant argued that the blows Israel has dealt against Hezbollah “have made a crack that now opens the door to change not just in Lebanon, but in the entire Middle East.”

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.”

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.

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.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron after their joint press conference in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on Sunday evening, following Macron’s call for an arms embargo against Israel.

Netanyahu said Israel expected its friends to support it against the “Iranian terror axis” rather than impose restrictions. According to his office, the prime minister also made the case that Israel’s offensives against Iran-backed militant groups would benefit the whole region.

According to a statement from the French presidential office, Macron reiterated his support for Israeli’s security and expressed solidarity for the people of Israel, especially the victims of the October 7 attacks, the hostages and their families. He also expressed the importance of a ceasefire deal.

The leaders agreed that their countries would revisit the discussion when French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot meets with Israeli officials on Monday, when he will visit Israel and the West Bank.

More background: On Saturday, Macron had called for the complete suspension of the sale of arms “used in the war in Gaza,” while stressing France has not been involved in their supply.

Netanyahu responded by saying “shame on” Macron and other countries who call for arms embargoes against Israel, adding, “Is Iran imposing an arms embargo on Hezbollah, on the Houthis, on Hamas and on its other proxies? Of course not. This axis of terror stands together.”

Several countries including the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom have been criticized by human rights groups for failing to suspend arms sales to Israel as its bombardment of Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead.

The Israeli military said it is preparing for the possibility of terror attacks by Hamas to mark the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attacks.

Israel Defense Forces international spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters that Israel would be enforcing extra security measures across the country Monday.

“We know (Hamas) have a tendency to try and carry out terror attacks on these kind of symbolic dates … and that’s why we’re preparing for that, adding forces in the south and preparing for that kind of thing,” he said.

Shoshani added that Hamas had fired rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday, a day before the anniversary.

Asked by CNN about Hamas’ abilities to continue firing these rockets into the south and Tel Aviv, Shoshani said the number of rockets fired had “dropped dramatically.”

“Hamas had dozens of thousands of rockets. Hezbollah has had somewhere in the vicinity of 150,000 rockets. So even though we have great progress, there’s still a way to go. We’ve seen the numbers drop drastically. The amount of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel has dropped dramatically,” he said.

New operation in Gaza: Israel’s military says it has encircled Jabalya in northern Gaza and launched a new ground operation after seeing signs of Hamas rebuilding there, despite nearly a year of fighting and devastating strikes in the territory.

Shoshani said Israel is opening two evacuation routes for people fleeing the new operation.

Flights at Iran’s airports will be canceled overnight Sunday into Monday, according to Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization.

The agency, citing “operational restrictions that have arisen” said the closure will last from 9 p.m. local time Sunday (1:30 p.m. ET) until 6 a.m. local time Monday morning, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.

Iran will also shut down part of its western airspace nightly until at least October 9, citing “military exercises,” according to a notice to airmen issued by the aviation authority.

The four “airways” that transit Iran’s western airspace will be shut from 8:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. local time.

Some context: No further details about the decision to cancel flights and shut down airspace were provided, but the moves coincide with the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Israeli officials have also vowed to retaliate after Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel last Tuesday, marking its largest-ever attack on its regional adversary. Israel has not said when or what form this retaliation may take.

CNN’s Paul P. Murphy contributed reporting to this post.

This post has been updated to reflect additional closures made by the Iranian government.