The war in Gaza was always personal for many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Israel launched a new air and ground offensive in northern Gaza Sunday, hours after pounding Beirut's southern suburbs in the heaviest bombardment since it stepped up its pursuit of Hezbollah last month.

The intensified campaign on two fronts, including an overnight strike on a Gaza mosque that killed 19, came as Israel remained on high alert ahead of memorial events to mark the surprise attack a year ago that triggered the ongoing war.

President Joe Biden said Monday, on the anniversary of the Hamas attacks, that the United States remains "fully committed" to Israel's security, and that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, Iran and others.

"One year later, Vice President (Kamala) Harris and I remain fully committed to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist," Biden said in a statement marking the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

Crowds were participating in pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests and memorial events across Europe, North Africa and Asia on Sunday on the eve of the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

Sunday's events followed massive rallies that took place Saturday in several European cities, including London, Berlin, Paris and Rome. Other events are scheduled through the week, with an expected peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary.

Thousands of people have demonstrated in the streets of Morocco’s capital to call for justice for the Palestinians and for the Moroccan government to revoke its 2020 agreement formalizing its ties with Israel.

The North African nation has had — since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas — some of the Arab world’s largest protests.

President Emmanuel Macron’s office said the French leader has had a “frank” discussion about the Middle East situation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Both leaders accepted their divergence of views, as well as their desire to be well understood by each other, Macron's office said in a statement.

The United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since the war in Gaza began and led to escalating conflict around the Middle East, according to a report for Brown University's Costs of War project, released on the anniversary of Hamas' attacks on Israel.

An additional $4.86 billion has gone into stepped-up U.S. military operations in the region since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, researchers said in findings first provided to The Associated Press. That includes the costs of a Navy-led campaign to quell strikes on commercial shipping by Yemen's Houthis, who are carrying them out in solidarity with the fellow Iranian-backed group Hamas.

The Israeli military said on Monday that projectiles fired from Gaza set off sirens in central Tel Aviv, as Israel marks a year to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The sirens came as Israelis were marking the anniversary to the deadliest attack in their country’s history. That attack one year ago began with a volley of rockets from Gaza.

Israelis were holding vigils and somber ceremonies on Monday to mark a year since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, the deadliest in the country's history, which sparked the war in Gaza and scarred Israelis indelibly.

The surprise cross-border attack, which caught Israel unprepared on a major Jewish holiday, shattered Israelis' sense of security and shook their faith in their leaders and their military.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reiterated his call for a partial arms embargo on Israel — a demand that prompted an angry response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.