Israel celebrates a Jewish holiday for the first time since 1973 amid a multi-front war

Israel entered Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, and the country was embroiled in war. The Day of Atonement took place on Friday evening in the shadow of fierce fighting on several fronts, marking the first time since 1973 that Israel has been at war during the religious festival.

This year, the celebration of Yom Kippur took place amid rocket fire from Gaza, airstrikes in Lebanon and tensions with Iran. As the sun set and Israelis marked the start of the festival, air raid sirens continued to sound in the cities. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that over 120 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israeli territory in the early hours of the holy day. At the same time, Israel continued its retaliatory attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon.

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The IDF's military operations in both Gaza and Lebanon have received intense international scrutiny, particularly due to incidents involving United Nations peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon. On Friday, Israeli troops fired on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base, wounding two Sri Lankan peacekeepers. This incident came just a day after two Indonesian peacekeepers were injured in a similar attack. The Israeli military acknowledged the hit, but defended its actions on the grounds that the soldiers were responding to “an immediate threat” near the UNIFIL position.

India “worried”

India has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security situation in West Asia, particularly clashes along the UN-recognized Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon.

“We are concerned about the deteriorating security situation along the Blue Line. We continue to monitor the situation closely,” an MEA statement said.

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The United Nations condemned the attack on peacekeepers as a violation of international law, and several world leaders immediately called for accountability. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the shootings at UN positions “unbearable” and US President Joe Biden called on Israel to halt operations against UN troops. European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, expressed outrage and called on Israel to respect the sanctity of UN missions.

The threat from Hezbollah

Hezbollah warned Israeli civilians on Friday to stay away from military sites in residential areas in the north of the country. The militant group accused the Israeli army of using civilian areas as a shield for its military installations, particularly in major cities such as Haifa, Tiberias and Acre.

Hezbollah has fired numerous rockets at Israel as part of a broader retaliation against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. These ongoing attacks have caused widespread devastation and loss of life in both Lebanon and Israel.

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The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which has been simmering for decades, broke out into real fighting after Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. This surprise attack, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, was the deadliest in the country's history and plunged the region into a war that shows no signs of ending.

Ceasefire attempts

Diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire have so far been unsuccessful. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, whose country is bearing the brunt of Israeli airstrikes, called for an immediate cessation of fighting and called on the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution to that effect. Mikati stressed that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed along the border, a proposal that Hezbollah has reportedly agreed to in principle.

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The United States claims it has worked tirelessly to negotiate a ceasefire. Amos Hochstein, the US special envoy to the region, said Washington was in “continuous” talks to end the fighting. Despite these diplomatic overtures, fighting continued, with Israeli airstrikes bombing Hezbollah positions in the south and east of Lebanon and Hezbollah responding with rocket attacks.