In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set fire to a home and a vehicle in Burqa. Israeli settlers also open fire at Palestinians during a raid in Wadi Fukin; no injuries are reported. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers install an iron gate leading to the depopulated village of Khirbet Samra. Israeli forces shoot and injure 4 Palestinians trying to enter Israel for work near Faqqua. Israeli forces also shoot and injure 2 Palestinians during a raid in Husan. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian man in the back near Hebron. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Qalqilya. Meanwhile, Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Qusra. Israeli forces also demolish a Palestinian home in Bayt Anan and a water well and a house under construction in al-Raihiyeh. Separately, Israeli forces arrest 35 Palestinians during raids in and around Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin, Tubas, Jericho, and Jerusalem. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, Rafah, Nuseirat refugee camp, and Maghazi, killing at least 35 people, including at least 15 in a school in the Shuja’iya neighborhood of Gaza City. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Chamaa, killing 4 Syrian farm workers and injuring 5 others. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/1; UNOCHA 8/2)
More than 39,480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,314 children and 10,980 women, and around 91,128 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 587 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 139 children. More than 5,420 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 329 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 2,166 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 79,000 housing units have been destroyed and 370,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023. 4 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. Israel releases 15 Palestinians who have been detained in Israel to Gaza. (AJ, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/1; UNRWA 8/6)
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainee Affairs says a Palestinian man held at the Sde Teiman detention camp died on 6/17 after being tortured. The man’s father received a call today notifying him of the death of his son. Separately, Haaretz reports that the Palestinian man who was raped by Israeli soldiers at Sde Teiman before being transferred to a hospital has been returned the detention camp. (AJ, HA, WAFA 8/1; WAFA 8/5)
Israel announces the seizure of 7,902 dunams (1,950 acres) of land in Iskaka for the expansion of the Nofim Haniya settlement. (AJ, WAFA 8/1)
Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah gives a televised speech, saying Hezbollah is considering how to respond to the killing of Fuad Shukr on 7/30 and reiterates Hezbollah’s denial of involvement in the killing of 12 Druze people in Majdal Shams on 7/27. (AJ, HA, HA, REU 8/1)
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a prayer service for Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The New York Times and Axios report that Haniyeh was killed by an explosive device installed 2 months ago in the apartment he was known to stay at when visiting Iran. According to the Times, the apartment is part of a larger compound which is guarded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Islamic Jihad secretary-general Ziyad al-Nakhalah was also reportedly staying in the next-door apartment, which was lightly damaged by the explosion. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AX, AX, HA, NYT, NYT 8/1; NYT 8/3)
U.S. president Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris speak with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call, discussing U.S. defensive military deployments to the Middle East in support of Israel. Axios reports that Biden told Netanyahu that the U.S. will assist Israel if Iran responds to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, but that the U.S. expects Israel to stop escalating and move toward a ceasefire in Gaza. Biden also speaks with Turkish president Recep Tayyib Erdogan who tells him Israel does not want a ceasefire, noting that Haniyeh was leading the ceasefire negotiations. Biden tells reporters that the assassination of Haniyeh does not help ceasefire negotiations. Erdogan declares 8/2 a day of mourning for Haniyeh in Turkey. Pakistan also declares 8/2 a day of mourning for Haniyeh. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls on “all parties” to stop “escalatory actions” in the Middle East. Blinken also speaks with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud and UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in separate phone calls. (AJ, AP, AX, AX, HA, REU 8/1; AJ, AX, HA 8/2; HA, NYT 8/3)
Israel claims that Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul, who was killed alongside a colleague in Shati’ refugee camp on 7/31, took part in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and was a member of Hamas. Al Jazeera rejects the claim, pointing out that Israel detained al-Ghoul on 3/18 after raiding al-Shifa Hospital and released him shortly after. The UN Human Rights Office calls on Israel to stop killing journalists. Israel also claims that it has “definite proof” that Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif was killed on 7/13 in airstrikes that killed more than 90 people in al-Mawasi. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AP, AX, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU 8/1; NYT 8/4)
Australia clarifies that it has not changed its position on the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights after Foreign Minister Penny Wong called Majdal Shams an “Israeli town.” (AJ 8/1)