Israel-Hamas War day 305: What's happening in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon?

The World Central Kitchen (WCK), a US-based, non-governmental organization, said a Palestinian staff member was killed in Gaza on Wednesday, four months after seven staffers were killed by Israeli strikes in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.

The WCK identified the person as Nadi Sallout, saying in a post on X that he was "an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core."

One of our Palestinian colleagues, Nadi Sallout, was killed tonight near Deir al-Balah, Gaza. He was an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core. We are still learning the details of this tragedy, but… pic.twitter.com/XlBmenqYig

— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) August 7, 2024

The organization said it is still learning the details of the incident but that it believes he was off duty at the time. He was killed near Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, it added.

Three Israeli air strikes hit a convoy of aid vehicles traveling through Gaza on April 1, killing seven WCK staff, including citizens of the United States, Australia, Britain, and Poland.

Israel denied accusations that it had deliberately targeted the aid workers.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hezbollah may hit Israel harder than Iran, noting that it may misread and downplay how hard Israel will hit back If civilians are killed.

A senior IDF official decided yesterday on an operation to disrupt Nasrallah's speech by creating a sonic boom, primarily to send a warning message to him and Hezbollah commanders.

"We can fly anywhere at any time and perform sonic booms daily or conduct other operations," the official said.

Nasrallah himself mentioned this in his speech, saying that "Israel uses breaking the sound barrier to scare the audience."

The IDF admits that this is a psychological war between Hezbollah and Israel.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry stated on Wednesday that the death toll in Gaza has reached 39,677 since the war started on October 7 of last year.

A further 91,645 have thus far been wounded in the conflict, the Gazan ministry added.

The number has not been independently verified, and the ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its toll.

The Hamas-run ministry has also been repeatedly criticized for distorting casualty figures.

In May, departing from Hamas’s reported figures, the UN halved the number of women and children it had previously reported had been killed thus far in the war.

Israeli jets have broken the sound barrier over Beirut as well as in southern Lebanon, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen reported on Wednesday afternoon.

This is a developing story.
 

Some 59% of voters said that they support Israel making an immediate hostage deal that includes ending the Israel-Hamas war, according to an August poll released Wednesday by the Hostage Family Forum, conducted by the Midgam polling institute led by Mano Geva.

This is compared to 33% of all voters who oppose such a deal, with the rest undecided.

Among coalition voters, this support stood at 41% in favor, with 49% against, and the rest undecided.

The wait for Iran's retaliatory response to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, attributed to Israel, is taking longer than the United States initially anticipated, sources familiar with American intelligence told the Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya. 

US officials, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, warned on Sunday and Monday that the strike would occur within 24 hours, but as of now, neither Iran nor Hezbollah has taken any action.

While the exact nature of the response remains unclear, American officials noted they are confident it is imminent.

IDF troops blew up a bomb-making factory in the West Bank that contained explosives, Israeli state broadcaster KAN reported on Wednesday.

Israel struck Hamas targets in southern Gaza after dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from near two aid warehouses belonging to international organizations, including UNRWA, the IDF reported on Wednesday morning.

According to the military, the rockets were fired over the course of the last week towards Israeli communities in southern Israel.

The IDF added that after the Israel Air Force conducted the targeted strikes on the launch sites, secondary explosions were detected, indicating the presence of additional weapons at the site.

Launch sites in Southern Gaza near humanitarian aid and distribution warehouses. Publish August 7, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The military noted that Hamas continues to systematically use civilian, as well as humanitarian, infrastructure to conduct its activities.

Iran may be reconsidering its vow of a harsh reprisal on Israel for last week's assassination of Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported on Wednesday morning, citing White House officials.

The regime's proxy militia in Lebanon, Hezbollah, is still a "wild card," however, Ignatius added.

The Post columnist noted that the Biden administration has been sending strong messages to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to stand in the way of hostage deal-ceasefire negotiations and messages, via regional partners, to Tehran urging restraint in its response.