Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 314?

The Israeli air force practiced aerial refueling of fighter jets in Israeli airspace on Thursday, the IDF announced on Friday.

"The exercise simulated long-range flight deep behind enemy lines, performing aerial refueling in short periods of time," the IDF stated. "Aerial refueling is an operational capability required by the combat force, enabling it to remain airborne for long periods of time."

The participating aircraft were the "Adir" (F-35i), the "Baz" (F-15), and the aerial refueling "Ram" aircraft (Boeing 707).

The IDF announced that the exercise was conducted as part of the IAF’s readiness preparations.

The United States, Egypt, and Qatar presented Hamas and Israel with a “bridging proposal” for the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal after holding talks in Doha on Thursday and Friday.

This is a document aimed at birding the gaps between Israel and Hamas when it comes to the implementation of the three-phase hostage deal US President Joe Biden first unveiled in Washington on May 31.

The White House said that another summit would be held in Cairo at the end of next week with an eye to securing a final agreement.

The UN special rapporteur on torture on Friday condemned what she called a "particularly gruesome" case of the alleged sexual abuse of a Palestinian prisoner by Israeli soldiers and said the perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable.

"There are no circumstances in which sexual torture or sexualised inhuman and degrading treatment can be justified," Special Rapporteur Alice Jill Edwards said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said prosecutors have requested that soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee be placed under house arrest.

The Israeli delegation to the negotiations in Doha, Qatar, will fly back to Israel Friday evening, according to Israeli media.

The talks started Thursday afternoon and continued through until Friday afternoon.

Britain and France strongly condemned attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in statements by their respective foreign Ministries on Friday.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy said at a press conference in Israel, "The scenes overnight, of the burning and the torching of buildings, of the Molotov cocktails thrown at cars, of the widespread rampage and chasing of people from their homes, is abhorrent, and I condemn it in the strongest of terms."

The French Foreign Ministry released a statement saying, "The recurrence and violence of these attacks, which are only increasing, reveal the climate of impunity in which the actions of violent settlers take place."

"France calls on Israel to take all necessary measures without delay to protect the Palestinian population and to prosecute the perpetrators of these heinous crimes. France has adopted sanctions against Israeli settlers who have been guilty of violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. It will continue to do so and to mobilize the European Union in this regard until these acts cease."
 

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani urged Iran to hold off on an attack on Israel to avoid harming the ongoing Doha hostage talks in a phone call with Iran's leadership, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The report cited two diplomats familiar with a phone call between the two leaders.

Iran vowed to attack Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Despite anticipation in Israel and around the world, the attack has yet to come.

Al Thani warned Iran that an attack may further risk the current Gaza ceasefire discussions, which Hamas has refused to participate in.

After a rocket siren sounded in Nirim, near the Gaza border in southern Israel, on Friday afternoon, another rocket siren blared in Shlomi, a community in northern Israel.

Geert Wilders told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that millions of Dutch people stood with Israel against regional terror groups, the Dutch Party for Freedom founder and leader stated in a Friday post to X, formerly Twitter.

Just had a 📞 conversation with Israeli Minister of Defense @yoavgallant and told him millions of people in The Netherlands support #Israel against the terrorism of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and certainly the dark + evil forces of Iran. I wished him strength. #AmYisraelChai

— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) August 16, 2024

"Just had a [phone] conversation with Israeli Minister of Defense @yoavgallant and told him millions of people in The Netherlands support #Israel against the terrorism of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and certainly the dark + evil forces of Iran. I wished him strength," Wilders wrote.

France and the United Kingdom must help Israel hit Iranian targets should the Islamic Republic make good on its threat to directly attack the Jewish state, Foreign Minister Israel Katz told his French and British counterparts on Friday.

"If Iran attacks, Israel expects the international coalition led by the US, Britain, and France to join Israel not only in defense but also in attacking significant targets in Iran,” Katz said.

He spoke after meeting with the foreign ministers of Great Britain David Lammy and of France Stéphane Séjourné in his office in Jerusalem.

The IDF distributed flyers around northern Khan Yunis and eastern Deir al Balah to warn Gazans within the humanitarian zone of those areas to evacuate due to intel that Hamas established a terrorist infrastructure there, the Israeli military said on Friday.

"The advance warning to civilians is being issued in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population and to enable civilians to move away from the combat zone," the IDF said.