French minister denounces anti-Semitism at Nova festival memorial

Israelis took part in commemorations on 7 October 2026 for the victims of the October 7, 2023 attacks, which France 24 reported killed 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot attended a memorial ceremony at the site of the Nova music festival in Re'im, in southern Israel.

Speaking at the site, Barrot said France rejects "anti-Semitism and hatred of others". "At a time when our societies are facing the resurgence of unchecked anti-Semitism, we will not allow this poison to spread within the Republic," the minister said in Re'im, according to France 24. He described the October 7 attack as an "abominable assault" that "wounded the Israeli people and all Jews to the core" and caused "a trauma that must not be downplayed".

Katia Zohar, whose daughter Bar Zohar was killed at age 23, called the start of the attack at 6:29 am (0329 GMT) "the minute that changed our lives forever". "Sadly I remember everything," Zohar said, according to France 24. Family members bowed their heads quietly at the festival site, where France 24 reported Hamas militants in trucks and paragliders opened fire around dawn on October 7, 2023.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said one of its posts near the border with Israel was targeted by small-arms fire, with no casualties. "This morning, several rounds of small arms fire impacted a UNIFIL position near Kfar Shouba along the Blue Line in Sector East," the force said in a statement, referring to the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon. "Such deliberate attacks gravely endanger the lives of peacekeepers," it said, adding that it was investigating the incident.

The death toll from strikes in Gaza on 7 October rose to five, according to hospital sources cited by France 24. Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reported two deaths at dawn following an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the north of the territory, and the Gaza Civil Defence, a first-aid organisation, identified one of the victims as one of its volunteers, aged 23. In Khan Younis, in the south, Nasser Hospital reported three further deaths in Israeli strikes carried out in several parts of the city.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed new attacks on airports and military facilities in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, according to France 24, which described the Houthis as Iran-backed. The Houthis' military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said on social media that the group launched ballistic missiles and drones against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The Associated Press reported that new cage-like fences were erected this week around fuel tanks and other equipment of the Saudi state-run Aramco oil company near the Riyadh airport.