Latest news bulletin | October 7th – Midday
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00:00European leaders condemn the Hamas attack on Israel and repeat calls for a ceasefire
00:06on the first anniversary of the war in Gaza.
00:11A number of Danish schools have begun implementing a mobile free school policy for pupils.
00:20After scores of its residents were killed during the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas
00:25on Israel, a kibbutz has turned into a ghost town.
00:31One year on from the October 7 attack, Israelis mark the solemn occasion with vigils and rallies.
00:43One year on from the October 7 attack that kick-started the Israel-Hamas war, over 350
00:49people attended the site of the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel.
00:54They listened to the last song that rung out before hundreds of their friends and family
00:58members were gunned down or taken hostage by Hamas.
01:03In Jerusalem, hundreds protested through the streets before rallying outside Israeli Prime
01:07Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home to mark the solemn anniversary.
01:12They called for the leader to broker a ceasefire with Hamas, ensuring the safe return of hostages.
01:17I want to promise all the 101 hostages, on behalf of all of us, all the people of Israel,
01:24that we will not stop fighting, we will not stop keeping their voice, we will not stop
01:31insisting on the most valuable, moral and fundamental thing, that they return home safely
01:38as soon as possible.
01:42Hundreds of protestors then stood in silence, listening to a siren marking another somber
01:47date in Israeli history, Holocaust Remembrance and Memorial Day.
01:57It was both a show of strength and support for Matteo Salvini.
02:02On Sunday, leaders of political forces within the far-right Nationalist Party for Europe
02:06group came to the League Party's annual gathering in Pantida to defend the Italian leader, who
02:11faces a potential jail sentence in a migration trial.
02:15The stood united on stage under the slogan, defending borders is not a crime.
02:35From the President of Portugal's Oxiga Party to Austria's Freedom Party and Hungary's Prime
02:40Minister Viktor Orban, migration topped the agenda, along with the call for Europe to
02:45change its course.
03:11Matteo Salvini is using this event to raise his profile and gain support after Italian
03:15prosecutors requested a six-year jail sentence for refusing to disembark 147 migrants when
03:22he was interim minister in 2019.
03:25Matteo Salvini launched a petition in his defense, which has garnered around 100,000
03:32signatures so far, with more expected to be collected today.
03:37Those who signed the petition were given a special membership card from the League Party.
03:45Whether or not Salvini's support for Patriots for Europe, the third largest group in the
03:52EU Parliament, could distance him from ECR President and coalition partner Prime Minister
04:00Giorgia Meloni, is too early to say.
04:08There has been some early reaction from European leaders on the first anniversary of the Hamas
04:13incursion into Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
04:18The European Union, which has been a key player in the Gaza Strip, has also been a key player
04:23in the Gaza Strip.
04:26The European Union, which has been a key player in the Gaza Strip, has also been a key player
04:34in the Gaza Strip.
04:39President Ursula von der Leyen said the Hamas attacks, which saw 1,200 Israelis killed and
04:44250 others taken hostage, were an example of unspeakable savagery.
04:49She reiterated her call for a ceasefire and the unconditional release of the Israelis
04:54still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
04:57Israeli authorities say almost 100 hostages remain in captivity but fewer than 70 are
05:02believed to still be alive.
05:04In a video posted on X, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz regretted that so much suffering
05:09so many deaths had taken place on both sides of the conflict.
05:14He said the German government continues to push for a ceasefire so that the civilian
05:18population in the Gaza Strip can be better protected.
05:22On Sunday, the Israeli military announced a new air and ground offensive in Jabalia
05:27in northern Gaza, the site of a refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel's
05:33creation.
05:34Israel reiterated its call for the complete evacuation of the area.
05:38Up to 300,000 people are estimated to have remained in the heavily destroyed north, while
05:43around a million fled to the south.
05:46Those fresh orders prompted thousands to flee the area, many leaving on foot, some using
05:51donkeys and carts.
05:54Palestinian authorities reported heavy Israeli strikes in Gaza on Sunday, with at least 19
05:59people killed in an attack on a central mosque.
06:02Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have said they have put the country on high alert for potential
06:07attacks as they prepare to hold their own memorials for the victims of the 7th October
06:12Hamas attacks.
06:14Denmark has long been recognized as a pioneer in the use of digital tools in education,
06:21but it's now shifting away from this approach.
06:24A growing number of schools are implementing a mobile-free school policy, under which students
06:30are required to hand in their phones during the school day.
06:33At this school in Denmark, pupils are required to leave their phones in a safe during the
06:38school day.
06:40This pilot program, which started in 2023, has gained support from both parents and teachers
06:47and is now a permanent practice.
06:49Teachers at the school proposed a ban after witnessing how unrestricted mobile phone use
06:54harms students' concentration.
06:56A lot of pupils, they actually lost interest in learning, and so we had to do something
07:01about it.
07:02But a lot of the pupils felt that we took something away from them.
07:07Of course, we take their phones, but we also help them in the long run, and that's our
07:12responsibility as grown-ups and adults, to take responsibility.
07:17It's our future, you know.
07:20In February, Denmark's education ministry announced new recommendations on digital device
07:25use at school.
07:28If you look at, in totality, the different scientific approaches to studying concentration,
07:37memory, well-being, sleep, relationships, the value of the physical play and all that,
07:45then it's very clear that it points to putting a limit on the mobile phone usage, not forbidding
07:56them totally, but limiting in order to stimulate different kinds of activities.
08:03When the ban was first implemented, teachers experienced strong resistance from students.
08:09I felt like they were just kind of unnecessary.
08:14But some students say they have noticed changes in their peers' behavior.
08:18I mean, I definitely felt like I used my phone a lot more in school than I should have, but
08:23after the change, it helped a lot, and also like other people who used it a lot, it helped
08:28like just like talking with your friends more and like doing stuff outside of school too
08:32and not just looking at your phone.
08:34In 2012, many municipalities purchased iPads for schools using government subsidies.
08:40But the reversal in Denmark's approach to technology and education reflects concerns
08:44about its impact on students' well-being.
08:47After the shock of Hamas's massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023, the Israeli government
08:57went well beyond its reiterated retaliation doctrine and hit deep to free the hostages
09:03and root out Hamas.
09:05Has Israel achieved its objectives?
09:09After months of harsh fighting, in early summer the IDF took control of the Philadelphia corridor,
09:15a highly strategic line route stretching along the border between Gaza and Egypt in
09:21the Rafah area.
09:23The IDF's deployment on the Philadelphia line created a strategic connection between
09:27Gaza and South Lebanon, provoking Hezbollah attacks.
09:31At the same time, Israel needs the Philadelphia corridor to cut the supply line for the Palestinians
09:37and clear Hamas's militant tunnels.
09:40Caught by surprise on October 7 last year, Israel suffered one of the deadliest terrorist
09:45attacks in its history and the first invasion of its national territory since 1948.
09:51Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups from Gaza attacked Israeli territory from sky,
09:56sea and land, killing 1,195 people, 815 of whom were civilians, and abducting 251.
10:05It was a so-called multi-domain attack, which in the eyes of Israel was a typical Iranian
10:10operational concept.
10:13On the same day, the Israeli cabinet launched Operation Sword of Iron, with the immediate
10:18objective of kicking Palestinian attackers out of Israeli territory and freeing hostages,
10:24and the long-term goal of ending Hamas.
10:27One year on, fierce urban fighting has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, 7,500 of
10:34whom were children.
10:37Hospitals, schools and other facilities have been destroyed and 800 IDF members have lost
10:43their lives.
10:46On July 31, an Israeli attack in Tehran killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and liberated
10:52more than 100 hostages, but more than 70 were reportedly killed.
10:56Yet Hamas has not been eradicated.
10:59Israel's government is concerned by the fact that Hamas could conquer the West Bank too.
11:05The fact that there are no elections there is a sign of the fear that extremists like
11:11Hamas might take over the West Bank as well.
11:15Clearly the answer is not an indiscriminate Israeli settlement.
11:21West Bank Palestinians have been denouncing the increasing number of Israeli ultra-nationalist
11:26settlements being created in their territories.
11:29Mostly moderates, their exasperation could favor Hamas' strategy of taking the West Bank.