Transcript of One year after October 7th a wider war threatens middle east | BBC News

Well, how the reverberations have spread right across the Middle East since that fateful day, as Israel has waged war on Hamas in Gaza, and of course, against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Well, our first report tonight is from Jeremy Bowen, who examines the last 12 months of war, the lives transformed in Israel and in Gaza, where more than 40,000 people have died in the Israeli response. His report begins in Kibbutz, Kfa'aza, close to the Gaza border.

The survivors of the attack on Kibbutz, Kfa'aza, have not come back to live here. The ruins have not been touched. Kfa'aza, right on the border, was one of the first targets of Hamas. They killed 62 people here and took 19 into Gaza as hostages. That buzz is from an Israeli drone heading for Gaza. Later, we heard airstrikes. Bereaved families and a grieving nation were promised total victory over Hamas by their Prime Minister. A year on, Hamas are still fighting. The ground around one house has been excavated. It was the home of Nirel Zinny and his fiancé, Nivre Aviv, both killed by Hamas. Nirel's father spent weeks looking for his son's head. He didn't find it. A neighbor said there was a nightmare on every corner.

We are still inside the trauma. We are not in post-trauma, like people said. We're still here. We're still in the war. My victory, I will be here with my son and daughter, with my grandchild, and living peacefully.

For Israelis, Kfa'aza, and all the other places that Hamas attacked on the seventh of October have become repositories of a very deep and still raw national trauma. The horror that happened here has, for the vast majority of Israelis, absolutely justified everything that Israel has done since then. A year ago, Israeli troops were still fighting Hamas when they led us into Kfa'aza, three days after the attack. The year of war since then ripped away any illusion that the Middle East could be peaceful without resolving deep-seated conflicts. Hamas fighters, lying where they were killed, were seen by Israelis as enemies funded by Iran to destroy their state. And the sight of dead Israelis being carried out of the ruins brought back the Nazi Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews. These soldiers were being deployed north to the border with Lebanon. A year later, Israel and Iran are in direct conflict, plummeting towards all-out war. Israel's Prime Minister, Netanyahu, promised a mighty vengeance. His defense minister said they were fighting human animals in Gaza and would act accordingly. This was Gaza City before last October. Hamas told the BBC they attacked Israel to put Palestinians back on the world's agenda.

Israel has damaged or destroyed nearly 60% of all Gaza's buildings, according to satellite analysis. As the war in Lebanon deepens in Beirut, there are fears they might face something like this. Almost 42,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed. 10,000 are missing, thought to be under the rubble. The estimate is that 40% of casualties are children. Israel insists it follows the laws of war, spares civilians, and it rejects and condemns the accusation of genocide made by South Africa at the International Court of Justice. More than 2 million Gazans, the UN says, are trapped in a humanitarian catastrophe without food, water, and medical care. As families are displaced repeatedly on Israel's orders, BBC Verify has tracked how quickly improvised camps spring up. The Israelis say they're protecting civilians. The UN says nowhere is safe. Israel does not allow journalists into Gaza, so trusted Palestinian colleagues filmed Insaf Hassan Ali and her family in Almowasi, a supposedly safe area hit by at least 18 Israeli airstrikes. Insaf and her family have had to move 15 times.

We were walking on Saladin Street when a car was hit, and we saw it burning.

On the left, there were people killed. On the right, there were people killed. Even the donkeys were thrown around in the bombing, and we said, That's it, we're done. The next rocket will be for us.

On the West bank, the other side of the Palestinian territories, violence Violenceance and killing have increased sharply. This is Janine, where many Israeli raids have not deterred or destroyed local armed Palestinian militias. The cemetery is filling up with their dead. The war in Gaza has radical radicalized both sides. The West bank is already part of the pileup of serious conflict in the Middle East. There could be a bigger explosion here if Israel and Iran continue to accelerate into all-out war. The nightmare of the war that started in Gaza, spreading and igniting the Middle East, is happening. A ceasefire deal in Gaza might just cool the crisis and create a space for diplomacy. Perhaps the war can end in Gaza, too, or perhaps it's too late for that.

Jeremy, you're in Jerusalem. Do you see this conflict already engulfing parts of the region, actually spreading wider and deeper?

Clive, it's a really, really dangerous moment. What was a very nasty and brutal stalemate, you could call it, really changed about a month ago when Israel decided to go on the offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israelis had made it very clear they couldn't tolerate rocket fire into their country. Hezbollah gambled that their arsenal, provided by Iran, was too strong and that Israel wouldn't take that risk. Well, they did. They attacked, killed the leader, blew up those pages, have invaded into South Lebanon. While they've inflict massive blows on Hezbollah, its patron, the Iranians, instead of maybe just standing back as Israel may have hoped, they hit Israel last Tuesday with ballistic missiles. Now everyone in the region and are waiting to see what Israel will do. They've said they'll hit back the way they hit back, where they hit, and what Iran does afterwards will determine the way this war spirals, either more towards disaster or perhaps slowing down that process. We'll see.

We will indeed. Okay, Jeremy, thank you. Jeremy Bowen, our international editor there, live in Jerusalem. Well, tonight, Israeli strikes continue in Lebanon. New evacuation orders have have been issued for people living in the south. Hugo Buccega, our correspondent, has just sent us this report from the capital, Beirut.

Overnight, and the most intense Israeli air strikes in this war. In the morning, more air strikes. This video appears to capture secondary explosions, a possible sign that weapons were being stored there.

This place was hit about 12 hours ago, and there's still smoke coming out of the rubble. There is a heavy smell in the air, and there is destruction all around, including some buildings far from here. I can count at least three underground floors. It's all destroyed.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of hiding weapons among civilians. An accusation Hezbollah denies. This building, residents told us, included a sweet shop. We found the bag with the name of the shop on the right, next to the tail fin of a mortar, unlikely to have been used by the Israeli military. We couldn't stay long. You can go from here right now, please. A group of men arrived, ordering us to leave. In Gaza, Israel's war against Hamas continues. Israel bombed another school housing displaced residents, saying Hamas had set up a control center in the building. A nearby mosque was also attacked. Israel said Hamas was operating there. The two strikes killed at least 26 people. According to Gaza's Health Ministry. Om Mohamed Al Matar lost her daughter and grandchildren.

Please God defeat Netanyahu. Please God defeat Israel. I hope God defeats you, America. You have made us cry over our children, grandchildren, and loved ones. My heart is breaking. My heart is breaking.

Back in Lebanon, the missiles come not only at night. Israel is not backing down in its war against Hezbollah. And in Beirut, there's no respite. Look at that. Hugo Mashaker, BBC News, Beirut.