Hamas still has some rockets.

On the (exceedingly grim) anniversary of the October 7 attacks, the remnants of the Al-Qassam Brigades fired half a dozen projectiles at Tel Aviv, an insolent salvo a year on from Israel’s darkest day.

Earlier, the IDF struck rocket launchers and other targets in Gaza as part of what the military called a “new phase” aimed at preventing Hamas from reconstituting.

Apparently, the group retained (or regained) enough operational capacity and cohesiveness to organize an aerial barrage to mark 12 months since Yahya Sinwar’s “Operation al-Aqsa Flood.” There were no Israeli casualties from the handful of rockets the group managed to fly.

Over the weekend, Israel ordered a general evacuation of northern Gaza, once again uprooting desperate locals, who’re by now just nomads condemned to roam a 25-mile-long stretch of land, dodging bombs and scavenging for food along perilous “humanitarian” corridors between networks of squalid tent encampments. The death toll in the enclave is approaching 42,000.

Around 300,000 Gazans were impacted by Israel’s latest evacuation order. The IDF invaded the northern tip of the enclave again, surrounding Jabalia, where locals were informed of the operation by tens of thousands of leaflets dropped by the Israeli air force. At least three-dozen people died in the ensuing bombardment of the historical refugee camp-turned mini-metro, a Hamas stronghold prior to the war.

Apparently, the IDF’s planning a wholesale ground operation in Jabalia and Gaza City, reminiscent of the military’s earliest incursions in the weeks after the October 7 attacks. A year and tens of thousands of dead innocents later, the IDF’s fighting the same militants in the same neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the death toll since the IDF launched a full-scale military campaign to wipe out Hezbollah now exceeds 1,000. Israeli war planes are still pounding Dahiya, Hezbollah’s fiefdom in Beirut’s southern suburbs where Hassan Nasrallah was killed late last month. By now, it’s fair to assess that the IDF intends to raze every neighborhood in Dahiya, which on some streets is now indistinguishable from Gaza.

Indeed, residents in and around Dahiya are subjected to the same short-notice evacuation orders as civilians in Gaza. In Beirut, those orders take the form of abrupt warnings to move away from certain structures or to flee entire districts. Some city blocks are reduced to rubble.

There was still no word Monday on the fate of Hassan Nasrallah’s successor Hashem Safieddine, who might’ve died late last week in a massive strike reminiscent of the blasts which killed his cousin on September 27. The IDF continued to strike areas in and around the site where Safieddine reportedly conferred with the group’s remaining leaders on October 3. Hezbollah said it won’t comment on his status until they’re able to sift through the twisted metal and concrete where he may (or may not) lay dead.

As for Quds commander Esmail Qaani, who some suspect is entombed with Safieddine, the Guards claimed on Monday he was “in good health” without providing additional details. “Some ask us to issue a statement,” his deputy, Iraj Masjedi, said. “There is no need for this.”

Masjedi, it’s worth noting, served as Iran’s ambassador to Iraq and was sanctioned by Steve Mnuchin in 2020 for his (Masjedi’s) efforts to pull Baghdad even further into Tehran’s sphere of influence.

Masjedi’s role in arming, funding and training Quds-loyal Iraqi militia is no secret. As Mnuchin put it, “Masjedi has facilitated financial transfers for the benefit of the [Quds] acting at the direction of Commander Soleimani and his successor, Esmail Qaani.”

As for Israel, it’s clear enough what Benjamin Netanyahu intends. Historically — unspeakably — tragic as it was, the October 7 attack was an opportunity. An excuse for Israel to wipe out its enemies and reshape the region. That’s what you’re seeing.

Netanyahu’s rhetoric is remarkably forthcoming in that regard. Speaking to Israeli soldiers over the weekend, he said Israel’s intent on bringing about a “new reality from end to end.”