Tropical Storm Debby hits Florida with floods, threat of record rain in Georgia and the Carolinas

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby slammed Florida on Monday with torrential rain and high winds, contributing to at least four deaths in the state and causing flooding before turning menacingly toward the Eastern Seaboard’s low-lying regions and threatened to flood some of America’s most historic Southern cities.

Record-setting rain was expected to cause flash flooding, with up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) possible in some areas, the National Hurricane Center said. Up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) was forecast in central and north Florida. A flash flood emergency was issued into Monday evening for the Lake City area, where up to a foot (30.5 centimeters) of rain had fallen and more was expected.

The potential for high water also threatened Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that just because the storm was moving into Georgia, it didn't mean the state wouldn't continue to see threats as waterways north of the border fill up and flow south.

“It is a very saturating, wet storm,” he said during an afternoon briefing at the state’s emergency operations center. “When they crest and the water that’s going to come down from Georgia, it’s just something that we’re going to be on alert for not just throughout today, but for the next week.”

Debby made landfall along the Gulf Coast of Florida early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane. It since has weakened to a tropical storm and is moving slowly, covering roads with water and contributing to at least five deaths.

A truck driver died on Interstate 75 in the Tampa area after he lost control of his tractor trailer, which flipped over a concrete wall and dangled over the edge before the cab dropped into the water below. Sheriff’s office divers located the driver, a 64-year-old man from Mississippi, in the cab 40 feet (12 meters) below the surface, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A 13-year-old boy died Monday morning after a tree fell on a mobile home southwest of Gainesville, according to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office.

And in Dixie County, just east of where the storm made landfall, a 38-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy died in a car crash on wet roads Sunday night. The Florida Highway Patrol said a 14-year-old boy who was a passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries.

In southern Georgia, a 19-year-old man died Monday afternoon when a large tree fell onto a porch at a home in Moultrie, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Nearly 200,000 customers remained without power in Florida and Georgia on Monday afternoon, down from a peak of more than 350,000, according to PowerOutage.us and Georgia Electric Membership Corp.

DeSantis said some 17,000 workers were restoring electricity. He warned residents in affected areas to stay off the roads until conditions are safe.

Airports were also affected. More than 1,600 flights had been canceled nationwide, many of them to and from Florida airports, according to FlightAware.com.

Sarasota, Florida, a beach city popular with tourists, was one of the hardest hit by flooding.

“Essentially we’ve had twice the amount of the rain that was predicted for us to have,” said Sarasota County Fire Chief David Rathbun in a social media update.

Local leaders in Savannah, Georgia, said flooding could happen in areas that don’t usually get high water if Debby stalls out over the city. With winds and rainfall expected to worsen overnight, authorities issued a curfew from 10 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

“This type of rain hovering over us, coming with the intensity that they tell us it is coming, it’s going to catch a whole lot of people by surprise,” said Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis.

In South Carolina, Charleston County Interim Emergency Director Ben Webster called Debby a “historic and potentially unprecedented event” three times in a 90-second briefing Monday morning.

The city of Charleston has an emergency plan in place that includes sandbags for residents, opening parking garages so residents can park their cars above floodwaters and an online mapping system that shows which roads are closed due to flooding. Officials announced a curfew for the city starting at 11 p.m. as some of the heaviest rain is expected to fall overnight.

North Carolina is also under a state of emergency after Gov. Roy Cooper declared it in an executive order signed Monday. Several areas along the state’s coastline are prone to flooding, such as Wilmington and the Outer Banks, according to the North Carolina Floodplain Mapping Program.

North Carolina and South Carolina have dealt with three catastrophic floods from tropical systems in the past nine years, all causing more than $1 billion in damage.

In 2015, rainfall fed by moisture as Hurricane Joaquin passed well offshore caused massive flooding. In 2016, flooding from Hurricane Matthew caused 24 deaths in the two states and rivers set record crests. Those records were broken in 2018 with Hurricane Florence, which set rainfall records in both Carolinas, flooded many of the same places and was responsible for 42 deaths in North Carolina and nine in South Carolina.

President Joe Biden was briefed on Debby’s progress while at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said. Biden approved a request from South Carolina’s governor for an emergency declaration, following his earlier approval of a similar request from Florida. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he has asked Biden to issue a preemptive federal emergency declaration to speed the flow of federal aid to the state.

Vice President Kamala Harris has postponed a scheduled trip to Georgia. Harris’ campaign said her stop planned in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday, was being put off due to the storm.

Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee, a tiny community in northern Florida of less than 1,000 residents. It’s not far from where Hurricane Idalia made landfall less than a year ago as a Category 3 storm.

Sue Chewning lives in Steinhatchee and weathered both storms. In her nearly 73 years of living in the area, she said she doesn’t recall any direct hits from a hurricane — until this one-two punch from Idalia and Debby.

“Some people may say, ‘I can’t take this anymore’. But I think for the most part … it’s a close-knit community and most of the local people, they’re going to stay, dig down, help each other,” Chewning said.

This story has been updated to correct that the Big Bend area is north of Tampa, not south of Tampa.

Martin reported from Atlanta. AP journalists Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; Michael Schneider in Orlando, Florida; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; and Darlene Superville and Will Weissert in Washington, contributed to this report.

Tybee Island Department of Public Works employee Bruce Saunders uses a backhoe to pile sand as a barriers against storm surge from Tropical Storm Debby at a beach access point, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Tybee Island, Ga. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

The cab of a tractor trailer is raised from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, after the truck collided with a concrete wall, flipped over the wall, and was left dangling from the bridge. The driver was killed. The truck’s cab broke off and dropped into the Tampa Bypass Canal. Sheriff’s office divers located the 64-year-old man from New Albany, Mississippi in the cab 40 feet below the surface, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. (Florida Highway Patrol via AP)

Carter Grooms, 25, of Tampa, wades through the streets in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Fla., Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passed the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Flight departure information is displayed in Terminal B at the Philadelphia International Airport, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, as passengers are deal with cancelled flights to the south due to Hurricane Debby. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Passengers wait in line at American Airlines in Terminal B at the Philadelphia International Airport, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, as they deal with cancelled flights to the south due to Hurricane Debby. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

City workers prepare to haul and cut a tree that fell down near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Dartmouth Avenue, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passed the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Storm chasers check the wind speed near a home on the Gulf of Mexico Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

A block wall, knocked over from storm surge, blocks a road near homes in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

A tractor trailer dangles from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. The driver was killed. The truck’s cab broke off and dropped into the Tampa Bypass Canal. Sheriff’s office divers located the 64-year-old man from New Albany, Mississippi in the cab 40 feet below the surface, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.(Florida Highway Patrol via AP)

Flood water blocks a section of Dodecanese Blvd at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, in Tarpon Springs, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A bench is submerged in water near the R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Water almost reaches houses along Shore Drive East near R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A vehicle is disabled in the flood water along S. 22nd street, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in Tampa, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. ( (Luis Santana//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A driver negotiates a flooded street in the Shore Acres area Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, St. Petersburg, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Storm surge breaks over a small sea wall near boat docks, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning.(AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

Savannah resident Roi Roizaken loads sandbags into his van as rain from Hurricane Debby starts to fall, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Forecasters warned heavy rain could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 8:16 a.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Debby, lower left, a Category 1 storm over northern Florida, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

Flooding is seen near homes as The Don CeSar looms in the background Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A BMW sedan is stalled in high water along southbound US Alt 19 in Tarpon Springs, Fla., Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Kim Paul, 60, and her dog, Diesel, in front of their Shore Acres residence, as floodwaters reaches nearly halfway up her driveway, Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passed the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Carter Grooms, 25, of Tampa, wades through the streets in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Fla., Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passed the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A man walks through storm surge on the flooded road into Horseshoe Beach, Fla., Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024. Hurricane Debby made landfall early this morning. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

A BMW sedan is stalled in high water along southbound US Alt 19 in Tarpon Springs, Fla., Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Flood water blocks a section of Dodecanese Blvd at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, Monday morning, Aug 5, 2024, in Tarpon Springs, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A bench is submerged in water near the R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Water almost reaches houses along Shore Drive East near R.E. Olds Park, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, in Oldsmar Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Jefferee Woo//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A vehicle is disabled in the flood water along S. 22nd street, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in Tampa, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. ( (Luis Santana//Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A driver negotiates a flooded street in the Shore Acres area Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024, St. Petersburg, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Flooding is seen near homes as The Don CeSar looms in the background Monday morning, Aug. 5, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Fla., as Hurricane Debby passes the Tampa Bay area offshore. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 8:11 a.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Debby, a Category 1 storm over northern Florida, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 8:16 a.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Debby, lower left, a Category 1 storm over northern Florida, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

A pedestrian wades across a flooded street as a result of Tropical Storm Debby in the Shore Acres area of St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Floodwaters cover parts of the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Fla., as a result of Tropical Storm Debby Sunday afternoon, Aug. 4, 2024. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A trio of fishermen take advantage of the favorable weather conditions along Suncoast Key in Ozello, Fla., before Tropical Storm Debby makes landfall on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

A vehicle drives through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Debby approaches Florida, on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024 in Gulfport, Fla. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Visitors to the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks navigate a flooded street on Sunday, Aug 4, 2024 in Tarpon Springs, Fla., as Tropical Storm Debby stirs moisture offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Landon Stanley pulls his friends Jakob Jackson and Emerson Porcelli-Wilson in the waters flooding the streets from Tropical Storm Debby on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024 in Tampa, Fla. (Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A man struggles to secure construction equipment against of the surf, pushed by winds from Tropical Storm Debby, in Cedar Key, Fla., on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

St. Petersburg Stormwater Management workers Mariano Morales, left, and Brad Sharp, work to clear debris from a flooded street in Shore Acres during Tropical Storm Debby Sunday afternoon, Aug. 4, 2024. (Dylan Townsend/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

A man takes photos of the surf pushed by winds from Tropical Storm Debby as they break over the sea wall in Cedar Key, Fla., on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Christopher O'Meara)

Mabrey Shaffmaster, left, carries her nephew, Arlo Hoggard, 3, left, as her sister, Morgan Hoggard, carries nine-month-old son Ace Hoggard through a flooded street as Tropical Storm Debby approaches Florida on on Sunday, Aug 4, 2024 in Tarpon Springs, Fla. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken at 11:11pm ET shows Hurricane Debby approaching Florida on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

A driver negotiates a flooded street as Tropical Storm Debby passes just to the west of the Tampa Bay, Fla., region, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. (Max Chesnes/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

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

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed at least 10 firefighters.

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

STOCKHOLM — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Monday that the Hamas' attack on Israel a year ago was “the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust was committed.”

Kristersson said the attack also “led to an escalated conflict in the Middle East that is still ongoing, with tens of thousands of civilian casualties and enormous suffering.”

Kristersson called for a cease-fire and the release of hostages, a de-escalation in the region and an increased humanitarian access.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala reiterated his country’s support for Israel on the anniversary of the attack by Hamas.

“A few days ago, Israel was attacked again by Iran. Again, unfortunately, anti-Semitism in various forms is also on the rise,” Fiala wrote on X.

“Tensions in the Middle East bring suffering to many people. However, terrorist organizations will not bring peace and a dignified life to people there. Israel defends its existence, it is repeatedly attacked and must have the right to defend itself. Therefore, on the day of this tragic anniversary, I repeat: The Czech Republic stands by Israel!”

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas' attack to condemn Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Today, I remember with sorrow the tens of thousands of people that the murderous Israeli government has massacred since Oct. 7,” Erdogan said in a message posted on X. “I convey my most heartfelt condolences to my brothers from Gaza, Palestine, and Lebanon.”

An outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza and more recently the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Erdogan said: “Israel’s long-standing policy of genocide, occupation, and invasion must finally come to an end.”

He has praised Hamas previously as a “liberation group.” Erdogan on Monday made no mention of the Oct. 7 Hamas' attack, in which the militants killed about 1,200 people and dragged some 250 hostages back to Gaza. The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population.

“Israel will sooner or later pay the price for this genocide, which it has been implementing for a year and which is still continuing,” Erdogan wrote. “Just as Hitler was stopped by a joint alliance of humanity, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his killer network will be stopped in the same way.”

ROME — The Vatican marked the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel by taking up a collection for the people of Gaza and publishing a letter form Pope Francis to Catholics in the region expressing his solidarity.

Francis made no mention of Israel, Hamas or hostages in the letter dated Oct. 7 and addressed to Catholics in the Middle East, especially in Gaza. He referred to the “fuse of hatred” being lit one year ago, and the spiral of violence that had ensued, in insisting that what is needed is dialogue and peace.

After some comments that upset Israel early on in the conflict, Francis has usually tried to strike an even tone, often referring to Palestinians and Israel in his frequent appeals for peace. But he recently suggested Israel was using disproportionate and “immoral” force in Lebanon and Gaza.

And on the Oct. 7 anniversary, Francis spoke in general terms to people of all religious confessions in the region, thanking Christians for staying in their historic lands and directing himself in a particular way to the people of Gaza.

“I am close to you, I am with you. I am with you, the people of Gaza, long embattled and in dire straits. You are in my thoughts and prayers daily,” he wrote.

Francis said he was particularly close to those who have been forced to flee their homes to find refuge from bombing; to the mothers weeping over their dead children and those “who are afraid to look up for fear of fire raining down from the skies.”

Francis has called for a day of fasting and prayer on Monday, and his chief almsgiver announced he was taking up a collection from participants in Francis’ big meeting of bishops at the Vatican this week.

He urged donors to be particularly generous, saying the proceeds of the fundraising drive would go straight to the Catholic parish in Gaza, where Francis calls every day.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed at least 10 firefighters on Monday.

It said more people were buried under the rubble and the death toll may rise.

The ministry said the firefighters were in a municipality building in the town of Baraachit that was hit as they prepared to embark on a rescue mission.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Hamas on the anniversary of the militant group’s attack on Israel, while reiterating their administration’s commitment to cementing cease-fire deals to end fighting in Gaza and Lebanon.

“On this solemn anniversary, let us bear witness to the unspeakable brutality of the October 7th attacks but also to the beauty of the lives that were stolen that day,” Biden said in a statement.

The president said that he thinks every day of the more than 100 hostages still in captivity and their families. He vowed that his administration “will never give up until we bring all of the remaining hostages home safely.”

Biden added that “history will also remember October 7th as a dark day for the Palestinian people because of the conflict that Hamas unleashed that day.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children.

“It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people,” Harris said. “And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination.”

BEIRUT — The Israeli military Monday warned people in over a dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate, including the coastal town where the U.N. peacekeeping mission is headquartered.

Israeli evacuation warnings in recent days have expanded to include a provincial capital, as troops continue their ground incursion backed by intense airstrikes.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, is headquartered in Naqoura, not far from the coastal city of Tyre.

Israel’s Arabic military spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a post on X told residents to immediately flee north. “You are not allowed to head southward,” the statement read. “Any movement to the south puts your lives at risk.”

Lebanon’s cash-strapped government estimates that some 1.2 million people have been displaced in the fighting and it's struggling to support them.

Israel says its aim is to weaken Hezbollah to allow its displaced residents to move back to northern Israel. Hezbollah maintains that it will stop firing rockets at Israel when there is a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, in solidarity with its ally Hamas.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate areas near the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip after Hamas fired rockets at Tel Aviv.

The military had also ordered an evacuation of the areas east of Khan Younis earlier in the war when it sent ground troops into the territory’s second largest city.

The latest orders on Monday came after a barrage of five rockets triggered air raid sirens in central Israel, lightly wounded two women and caused minor damage. The military said the rockets were fired from the area of Khan Younis.

Hamas claimed the attack, which came as Israelis marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza that triggered the war.

On Sunday, the military reiterated warnings for the entire population of northern Gaza to flee south. Those warnings date back to the early weeks of the war, when Israeli forces sealed off the north and launched heavy operations there.

A year of war has inflicted heavy losses on Hamas, but its fighters have repeatedly regrouped in areas where Israel has carried out large operations.

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “arose as a nation as lions” following the Oct. 7 attack a year ago.

“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 at a memorial commemorating the anniversary of the attack.

He visited the memorial in Jerusalem for civilians, first responders and soldiers killed in the Hamas-led attack and the war it ignited. He spoke alongside the mayor of Jerusalem as the two held a small tribute at an event that appeared closed to the public.

Netanyahu has faced heavy criticism for security lapses that allowed the attack to unfold and mass protests over his failure to return some 100 hostages still held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.

The attack one year ago killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel, mostly civilians. Palestinian militants dragged some 250 hostages back to Gaza. The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the territory’s 2.3 million population.

WASHINGTON — The State Department says nearly 700 American citizens, green card holders and family members have now left Lebanon aboard U.S.-contracted planes since late September.

The department said Monday that about 90 passengers — less than a third of the planes 300-person capacity — departed Beirut for Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday on the latest flight.

Hundreds of other Americans have left Lebanon aboard regularly scheduled commercial flights since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified.

The department said it has made more than 2,900 seats available for Americans on those flights.

BEIRUT — Jordan’s top diplomat on Monday slammed Israel’s war with the militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon, saying it is pushing the Middle East into the “abyss of full-scale regional war.”

“We are facing a disaster and a dangerous escalation that threatens the region,” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. “Israel bears responsibility of this aggression, the escalation in the region, and any new escalation that the region faces.”

He spoke in a news conference following a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut.

Safadi said that Jordan backs the Lebanese government’s initiative to elect a new president and commitment to implement the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended Israel’s last war with Hezbollah in 2006, and that would keep southern Lebanon exclusively under the control of the Lebanese military and U.N. peacekeepers.

He added that Jordan, like Lebanon, backed an initiative by the United States and France for a three-week cease-fire in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, as the region braces for an Israeli retaliation for Iran's missile attack, Safadi said Jordan rejects either country using its airspace in their tit-for-tat hostitilies.

“We will not a battlefield for anyone,” he said. “We made this message clear to Iran and to Israel as well.”

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended a vigil commemorating the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and walked in Melbourne with members of the Jewish community and lawmakers from across party lines.

Albanese was not expected to speak at the vigil, attended by thousands. In a statement, he said the day carried “terrible pain” and his government “unequivocally” condemned Hamas’ actions.

“Since the atrocities of October 7, Jewish Australians have felt the cold shadows of antisemitism reaching into the present day -- and as a nation we say never again,” he said.

“We unequivocally condemn all prejudice and hatred. There is no place in Australia for discrimination against people of any faith,” Albanese said. He acknowledged the “devastating” loss of civilian lives since Oct. 7.

Hundreds of people gathered Monday night at Sydney town hall for a vigil for Palestinian lives lost in the conflict amid a heavy police presence. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters had rallied across Australia’s cities on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the first of two repatriation flights organized by the Australian government to transport Australians from Lebanon touched down in Sydney on Monday evening with nearly 350 people on board.

KIBBUTZ BE’ERI, Israel — Members of Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities during the Oct. 7 attack, gathered amid the burned ruins of their homes and demanded an immediate return of the hostages during a memorial and rally on Monday.

More than 95 people were killed there and 30 were taken hostage on Oct. 7, according to the community’s spokesperson. Some of the women and children from the kibbutz were released in a cease-fire deal in November, but 10 hostages from Be’eri remain in captivity. Israel believes most of them are no longer alive.

On Monday, the community marched silently through the streets of the kibbutz bearing signs of the hostages before gathering for a rally, unfurling a massive flag with the words “Be’eri cannot heal until everyone is home.”

Ella Ben-Ami, whose father Ohad Ben-Ami was kidnapped from Be’eri, addressed the crowd and demanded the government of Israel bring her father home.

She said she continues to take solace from the video of his kidnapping, when he stands tall and proud, as if he knew he was being filmed, to broadcast a message to his family that he would be OK.

Many people at Be’eri were dreading the anniversary, which felt like an “impossible” amount of time, she said. “But then I stop for a moment I think that my father woke up today to count a year in captivity, a year!” she said.

ROME — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has voiced strong support for Israel, commemorated the Oct. 7 anniversary by visiting the main synagogue in Rome and reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself.

Meloni also denounced the “latent and rampant antisemitism” that has arisen in the year since the Hamas attacks, citing in particular pro-Palestinian protests in Italy over the weekend, some of which turned violent.

While asserting Israel’s lights to live safely within its borders, she insisted that it respect international law and lamented the devastation unleashed by Israeli forces in Gaza. She said Palestinians in Gaza had been “victims twice over: first of Hamas’ cynicism, which uses them as human shields, and then of Israeli military operations.”

As the current president of the Group of Seven, Italy will continue to work for an immediate cease-fire, “the release of Israeli hostages and the stabilization of the Israeli-Lebanese border through the full implementation of U.N. resolutions,” Meloni said.

Since coming to office in 2022, Meloni has taken several initiatives to show her strong support for Italy’s Jewish community and Israel. Her Brothers of Italy party has roots in the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, or MSI, which was founded in 1946 by sympathizers of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said on Monday that projectiles fired from Gaza set off sirens in central Tel Aviv, as Israel marks a year to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The sirens came as Israelis were marking the anniversary to the deadliest attack in their country’s history. That attack one year ago began with a volley of rockets from Gaza.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes hit two makeshift points used by Hamas-run police at a hospital in central Gaza, wounding a journalist. There were no police present at the sites when they were hit early Monday.

Ali al-Attar, a journalist working for Al Jazeera, was hit by shrapnel while he was inside a tent used by reporters nearby, according to an Associated Press journalist.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, operated a police force numbering in the tens of thousands before the war. They have adopted a low profile after being repeatedly targeted by Israeli strikes but still maintain control on the ground in Gaza.

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Hezbollah militant group on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to support Hamas by fighting Israel along Lebanon's southern border.

The statement came a year after its allies from the Palestinian Hamas group staged a surprise attack into southern Israel, setting off the war, and amid ongoing intense Israeli airstrikes and a ground incursion into Lebanon.

Hezbollah maintains that it will stop its attacks if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, and although its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed. Large swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon have been targeted in Israeli airstrikes.

“We are confident, God willing, in the ability of our resistance to repel the aggression, and in our great and resistant people to be patient, steadfast, and endure until this calamity is removed,” Hezbollah said.

The Lebanese government estimates that some 1.2 million people in Lebanon have been displaced, mostly during the escalations less than a month ago.

Hezbollah also praised Iran and other Tehran-backed groups in the region, notably Yemen's Houthis and Iraqi Shiite militias for their attacks on Israel.

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.

Barrot, talking to the families of victims, pledged France’s support in the face of “the worst anti-Semitic massacre in our history since the Holocaust.”

“The joyful dawn of what should have been a day of celebration was suddenly torn apart by unspeakable horror,” he said. “France mourns alongside Israel our 48 compatriots victims of barbarism.”

Barrot, who is expected to speak with his counterpart Israel Katz later Monday, said that Macron will also meet in Paris with family members of Israelis held hostage today.

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.

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)

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)

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)