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Middle East latest: Palestinian militants in Gaza fire 4 rockets into Israel as mourners mark Oct 7

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Middle East latest: Palestinian militants in Gaza fire 4 rockets into Israel as mourners mark Oct 7
News

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Middle East latest: Palestinian militants in Gaza fire 4 rockets into Israel as mourners mark Oct 7

2024-10-07 15:45 Last Updated At:15:50

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired four rockets into Israel on Monday as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, without disrupting a nearby ceremony.

Hamas also said it attacked Israeli forces in different parts of Gaza.

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Lebanese men ride a scooter past a damaged building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Palestinian militants in Gaza fired four rockets into Israel on Monday as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, without disrupting a nearby ceremony.

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A man takes pictures by his mobile phone of destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man takes pictures by his mobile phone of destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The Israeli military said three rockets were intercepted and a fourth fell in an open area. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

The military said it launched a wave of artillery and airstrikes overnight and into Monday to thwart what it said was an imminent attack. It said it targeted Hamas launch posts and underground militant infrastructure.

The fighting on the anniversary underscored the militants’ resilience in the face of a devastating Israeli offensive that has killed around 42,000 Palestinians, according to local medical officials. It has also destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population.

Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into nearby army bases and farming communities in a surprise attack one year ago, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding around 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has also vowed to strike Iran in response to a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.

Here is The Latest:

BE’ERI, Israel — Across southern Israel on Monday, families gathered in spots where their loved ones were killed during Hamas’ attack, marking a year since the assault that sparked the war in Gaza.

They crowded into roadside bomb shelters that became death traps when people seeking shelter from Hamas rockets and militants were sprayed with bullets or struck by grenades.

People were also visiting spots on the side of a main road marked with memorials.

In Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities struck in Hamas’ attack, where roughly 100 residents were killed and 30 kidnapped on Oct. 7, hundreds marched silently holding signs bearing photos of people still being held captive in Gaza. They held a rally in front of homes destroyed in the attack.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron took to social media on Monday to mark the one-year anniversary since Hamas’ attack on Israel.

“The pain remains, as vivid as it was a year ago. The pain of the Israeli people. Ours. The pain of wounded humanity,” Macron said on X. “We do not forget the victims, the hostages, or the families with broken hearts from absence or waiting. I send them our fraternal thoughts.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was in Israel for the anniversary and attended a memorial service at the site of the Nova music festival where hundreds were killed in Hamas’ attack.

TOKYO — Japan has expressed its condolences to families of victims on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and demanded the immediate release of hostages.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday that Japan is seriously concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip amid continued fighting, the large number of civilian casualties and the ongoing security threats to both Israeli and Palestinian people.

“Japan continues to urge all parties including Israel to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, and strongly urges them to steadily work toward realization of a cease-fire,” Hayashi said.

He added that Japan strongly supports mediation efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar in achieving negotiations for the release of the hostages and a cease-fire.

TEL AVIV, Israel — A group representing the families of Israeli hostages announced on Monday the death of a captive whose body is still being held in Gaza.

The Hostages and Families Forum said Idan Shtivi, 28, was captured from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7. He was thought to have been taken alive.

Israeli media reported that he was killed that day and his body was taken into Gaza.

It was not immediately clear how Shtivi’s death became apparent, but in previous such announcements, the Israeli military has discovered evidence indicating a hostage’s death.

The announcement of Shtivi’s death comes as Israelis are marking one year since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, where militants killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others. About 100 remain in captivity, although more than a third of those are said to be dead.

RE’IM, Israel — Hundreds of families and friends of people killed at the Nova music festival gathered Monday at the site of the attack, where nearly 400 were gunned down during Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault.

Families gathered around photos of their loved ones, which were arranged in a semicircle around what was the DJ stage. Many lit candles and added mementos or photos, crying and embracing. Overhead, army helicopters circled and constant booms echoed across the area, causing many to flinch.

“We can’t understand how a year has passed,” said Shimon Busika, whose son, Yarden, 25, was killed at the festival. “It’s the most natural place to be, to be here for this moment of silence,” he said.

Busika said it took them a long time, piecing together testimony from other survivors, to understand what happened in Yarden’s last moments. They now know he was killed around 9:20 near a yellow container at the festival where many others were killed, and they will hold a second minute of silence there at the moment he was killed.

The last sounds of the trance track that was playing at the Nova site on Oct. 7 one year ago stopped abruptly, as hundreds of family members and friends of the more than 300 victims stood in a moment of silence. One woman’s piercing wail broke the silence as booms echoed from the fighting in Gaza, just a few kilometers (miles) away.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Twenty Indonesian nationals and a Lebanese evacuated from Lebanon arrived in Jakarta on a commercial flight early Monday and will likely be followed by 20 more in the afternoon, officials said.

President Joko Widodo has called to prioritize the evacuation of Indonesians in Lebanon as hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalate and fears of a wider regional war in the Middle East grow.

“I have directed the foreign affairs minister to take immediate action to ensure the safety and protection of our citizens and expedite their evacuation,” Widodo said last week.

Indonesia’s Embassy in Beirut had prepared evacuation procedures for citizens as part of its contingency planning since August. The Embassy evacuated 25 Indonesian citizens who returned safely to Indonesia last month, said Judha Nugraha, Director of Indonesian Citizen Protection at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

There are 116 registered Indonesian citizens in Lebanon, most of them students, migrant workers and people married to Lebanese nationals. Many of them have chosen to remain there for various reasons, Nugraha said.

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement Monday that the day carried “terrible pain” and his government “unequivocally” condemned Hamas' attack on Israel a year ago.

Hamas militants stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns on Oct. 7 a year ago, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise attack.

Albanese said that since the attack, Jewish Australians have “felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day — and as a nation we say never again.”

“We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred. There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith,” Albanese said.

He added that “every innocent life matters” and the number of civilians killed in the conflict was “a devastating tragedy.”

“Today we reflect on the truth of our shared humanity, of the hope that peace is possible, and the belief that it belongs to all people,” Albanese said.

BEIRUT — A new round of airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs late Sunday as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon. Palestinian officials said a strike on a mosque in Gaza killed at least 19 people.

Rocket sirens and blasts were heard in Haifa in northern Israel late Sunday, and Hezbollah claimed the attack. Israel’s military said at least five projectiles were identified coming from Lebanon and “fallen projectiles” were found in the area. The military showed what appeared to be rubble along a street. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it was treating a teen with shrapnel injuries to the head and a man who fell from a window due to a blast.

A year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel along the border since the war in Gaza began. Israel also has vowed to strike Iran after a ballistic missile attack on Israel last week.

Lebanese men ride a scooter past a damaged building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese men ride a scooter past a damaged building hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People visit the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A man takes pictures by his mobile phone of destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man takes pictures by his mobile phone of destroyed buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Victoria stands in front a picture of her sister, Yulia Waxer Daunt, as she visits the site of the Nova music festival, where hundreds of revelers were killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, on the one-year anniversary of the attack, near Kibbutz Reim, southern Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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Former Singapore Cabinet minister starts 1-year sentence for receiving illegal gifts

2024-10-07 15:34 Last Updated At:15:40

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A former Singaporean Cabinet minister began a one-year prison term Monday for receiving illegal gifts after saying he would not appeal his sentence in the rare criminal case involving a government minister in the Asian financial hub.

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran said it was important to him that prosecutors reduced two corruption charges to charges of receiving illegal gifts at the start of the trial last month. Iswaran had pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice and four of accepting gifts from two businessmen with whom he had official business.

His sentence of 12 months in prison exceeded what the defense and prosecution had requested, but the court agreed to let him start serving the sentence Monday.

“I will not be appealing the sentence handed down by the Court,” Iswaran said in a statement on social media. “I accept that as a minister, what I did was wrong under section 165 (of the Penal Code). I accept full responsibility for my actions and apologise unreservedly to all Singaporeans.”

With his prison term, he said he hoped he and his family can put “the pain and anguish behind us, move forward and rebuild our lives together.”

Singapor e’s ministers are among the world’s best paid, and the case has embarrassed the ruling People’s Action Party, which prides itself on clean governance. The last Cabinet minister charged with graft was Wee Toon Boon, who was found guilty in 1975 and jailed for accepting gifts in exchange for helping a businessperson. Another Cabinet minister was investigated for graft in 1986, but died before charges were filed.

A day after Iswaran's sentence last week, a Malaysian hotelier who brought Formula One to Singapore was charged Friday for allegedly obstructing justice and abetting Iswaran's wrongdoings. Ong Beng Seng did not indicate how he would plead to the charges, and his case has been adjourned until next month.

The second businessman will not be charged.

Ong, a Malaysian businessman based in Singapore, is the managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, which owns 38 hotels and resorts in 17 countries. He is known for bringing Formula 1 to Singapore in 2008, and holds the rights to the Grand Prix night race in the city-state.

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, center, and his lawyer Navin Thevar arrive at the High Court in Singapore, on Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo)

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, center, and his lawyer Navin Thevar arrive at the High Court in Singapore, on Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo)

Former Singapore Cabinet minister starts 1-year sentence for receiving illegal gifts

Former Singapore Cabinet minister starts 1-year sentence for receiving illegal gifts

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, center, and his lawyer Navin Thevar arrive at the High Court in Singapore, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo)

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran, center, and his lawyer Navin Thevar arrive at the High Court in Singapore, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo)

Former Singapore Cabinet minister starts 1-year sentence for receiving illegal gifts

Former Singapore Cabinet minister starts 1-year sentence for receiving illegal gifts

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