In the West Bank, Israeli settlers raid al-Mughayyir, shooting and injuring a Palestinian, assaulting 5 others and setting a tent on fire. Israeli settlers also set fire to 40 olive trees in Surif. Israeli forces assassinate 5 Palestinians, including Hamas Nablus commander Haitham Balidi and Islamic Jihad commander Abdul Jabber al-Sabbagh, in an airstrike on a vehicle near Tulkarm. Israeli forces also kill 4 people in an air strike on a vehicle in Bal’a near Tulkarm. Later, Israeli forces raid Tulkarm refugee camp, uprooting streets with bulldozers and damaging property. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure 3 Palestinians, including a child during a raid in Balata refugee camp. Israeli forces also shoot and injure a Palestinian man during a raid in Abwein. Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrest 30 Palestinians during raids in and around Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Hebron, Tubas, and Jerusalem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces shoot and injure 3 Palestinians during a raid in Isawiya. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Gaza City, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Khan Yunis, killing at least 31 people, including at least 15 at the Hamama school in Gaza City which is bombed twice. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Deir Siriane, killing a Hezbollah member and injuring 6 other people. Israeli forces also bomb Kafr Kila, Tayr Harfa, Rab El Thalathine, and Tyre, killing a person in Tyre. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at Avivim and Beit Hillel, causing damage in Avivim. (AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, NYT, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/3; AP, HA 8/4; UNOCHA 8/5)
More than 39,550 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 16,314 children and 10,980 women, and around 91,280 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble. 597 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 2,176 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. 14 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. (AJ, HA, WAFA 8/3; UNRWA 8/6)
Mossad and Shin Bet directors David Barnea and Ronen Bar travel to Cairo for ceasefire negotiations before returning to Israel. Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani discusses ceasefire negotiations with EU high commissioner for foreign affairs Josep Borell in a phone call. (AJ, AX, HA 8/3)
Hamas says it has started the process of selecting a new political leader to replace Ismail Haniyeh. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says Haniyeh was killed by a short-range projectile fired from outside of his residence in Tehran. The New York Times has reported that it was an explosive device installed in Haniyeh’s room that killed him. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, REU 8/3; AJ, AP 8/4)
A senior official in the Biden administration tells Haaretz that President Joe Biden has realized that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been lying to him about the about efforts to secure the captives held in Gaza. (HA 8/3; AJ 8/4)
At least 17 countries urge their citizens to leave Lebanon due to the risk of a regional escalation. (AJ, AJ, HA, NYT 8/4)