Update Aug 3rd (Day 302)

UPDATES ON THE WAR – Day 302 (Aug 3^rd):

*We are one Day 302 (Aug 3^rd).

*Anderson Tours enjoyed a wonderful Holy Land Tour experience in June 2024 and also in April. Follow our posts from that trip that are going up now: Anderson Tours Instagram , Anderson Tours Facebook, and/or Anderson Tours YouTube Channel

* We will now be updating this blog monthly due to our busy touring season. Below is a summary below of the last several week’s important points.

Headlines:

• The IDF said fighter jets attacked Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight into Saturday (Aug 3^rd). The IDF confirmed it killed Ali Nazia Abed Ali, a key Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon, in a strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon, following Lebanese reports on the strike.
• Hamas political chief Ismail Hanieyh was killed in a missile strike in Tehran by an explosive device planted weeks earlier by Israel through an Iranian operative (Iran claims it was from a short range projectile) . Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei said that avenging Haniyeh’s assassination is “Tehran’s duty.” Iran’s reprisal for the attack will be “severe and [conducted] at an appropriate time, place, and manner,” the Guards said in a statement.
• Iranian authorities arrested more than two dozen people following Haniyeh’s killing in a military-run guesthouse in Tehran on Wednesday (Aug 1^st), the New York Times reported, citing two Iranians with knowledge of the investigation.
• Thousands attended the funerals of 12 children and teens who were killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel on Saturday. PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant both said Hezbollah will “pay a heavy price” for the strike.
• The Lebanese Health Ministry said that four people were killed and 74 were injured in the Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Tuesday evening, adding that one of the fatalities was senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, described by Israel’s defense minister as Hezbollah’s “chief of staff,” and responsible for the rocket strike on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel which killed 12 children and teens.
• IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi told soldiers in Khan Yunis on Thursday that “the hostage deal is something we are pushing for, and it is our superior task.”
• Spokesman says IDF ‘on high alert.’ Aug 1^st anticipating a retaliation.
• Protesters call for hostage deal on 300th day of Gaza war. Hundreds of people dressed in white, carrying yellow flags, Israeli flags and yellow ribbons, march from Jerusalem’s First Station Complex to the Great Synagogue.
• An Israeli special forces operation in central Gaza Saturday retrieved four living hostages (June 10^th). More than 270 Palestinians were killed, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
• Opposition leader Benny Gantz resigned from Israel’s war cabinet. Netanyahu’s coalition still holds enough seats to remain in power.
• Hezbollah field commander Taleb Abdallah was killed in an Israeli strike June 11^th the most senior Hezbollah commander assassinated by Israel since the war began. Hezbollah responded with its most extensive attack since the start of the war, launching 215 rockets on Israel’s north.
• Israel says more than 200 trucks deliver aid to its Kerem Shalom crossing every day but the aid has built up at the crossing, with limited trucks to bring the aid to and from recipients in the south. Israel accuses the UN of logistical failures in facilitating the aid deliveries, while the UN blames Israeli shelling for an insecure route.
• Firefighting and rescue teams gained control over most of the fires that erupted in northern Israel following heavy rocket barrages from Lebanon on Wednesday (July 4^th). According to Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, nature reserves in the Galilee and the Golan Heights were severely damaged.
• The IDF said it has killed half of Hamas’ military leadership, with 14,000 operatives killed or wounded (July 19^th).
• An overnight Houthi drone strike killed an Israeli civilian and wounded eight others in central Tel Aviv (July 19^th).
• Israel’s attack in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Saturday (July 20^th), which reportedly killed six people and wounded 80.
• PALESTINIAN STATE: Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah said they signed a declaration in Beijing vowing to form a government together. Both sides said the accord, which provided no guarantees or timeline, was only an initial step. Chinese state media reported that 12 other Palestinian factions signed the Beijing Declaration on “ending division and strengthening Palestinian unity.”

OUCH:

• The UN said it is unable to distribute aid from the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza because of lawlessness and panic among Gazan residents (June 2024).
• The number of living Israeli hostages held in Gaza could be as low as 50, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing mediators in the negotiations for a cease-fire and a U.S. official familiar with the details. The assessment is partly based on Israeli intelligence. If true, it means 66 of the hostages are dead – 25 more than Israel has publicly acknowledged so far.
• The World Health Organization warned of a high risk of the polio virus spreading through Gaza and beyond due to poor health and sanitation conditions. Ayadil Saparbekov, WHO’s health emergencies chief in Gaza and the West Bank, said that “it may also spill over internationally, at a very high point.”
• Sources in the IDF said they believe some bodies of hostages held in Gaza will never be found.
• The arrest of 8 Israeli soldiers suspected of severely sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee in the Sde Teiman facility has been extended through to Sunday, a military court decided.
• Several Israeli journalists were attacked on Tuesday (July 30^th) by a far-right mob protesting the soldiers’ arrest. Ilana Curiel, a journalist for Israeli news site Ynet, said that the protesters “shoved me, spit on me and called me a slut, an ‘Arabs’ whore,’ a traitor.”
• Iran’s supreme leader has reportedly ordered a direct strike against Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
• Western diplomats told Haaretz that the risk of war has grown following the assassinations in Beirut and Tehran. Hezbollah chief Nasrallah said that “we have entered a new phase in all arenas” and that his organization will “definitely” respond to the assassination of senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
• Israel’s National Security Council has urged the public to take extra precautions while traveling, citing a possibility that Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah may try to target embassies, synagogues and other sites abroad.
• The United States has assembled at least a dozen warships near the Middle East, a defense official told the Washington Post.
• S. officials told CNN that the United States believes Iran could retaliate to the assassination of Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh in the coming days, and that Iran could also order its regional proxies to attack U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. The attack is expected to be similar to the one that took place in mid-April, but could be larger and more complicated.
• Israel declared war after Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israelis and wounded more than 3,300 on October 7. In Gaza, the Hamas-controlled health ministry reports that at least 39,480 Palestinians have been killed and 91,128 wounded since the start of the war. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad hold hostage more than 120 soldiers and civilians, dead and alive, including foreign nationals.

YEAH:

• Israel will evacuate 250 sick and wounded Gazans to the UAE for medical treatment.
• The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children from being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.
• UN Security Council countries called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts to avert a wider Middle East conflict. Earlier on Thursday (Aug 1^st) it was reported by Financial Times that the U.S. and the EU are pressuring Iran to avoid responding to Haniyeh’s killing.

JERUSALEM:

• Israel’s military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, the country’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled yesterday in a decision that has potential ramifications for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
• Since Israel’s founding in 1948, ultra-Orthodox Jewish citizens have been exempt from compulsory military service, required for the country’s secular Jewish majority (both men and women). Ultra-Orthodox Jewish citizens account for roughly 13% of Israel’s population, or 1 million people. The Supreme Court said the military exemption for religious scholars had no legal basis after related laws either expired or were struck down. The nine-judge panel also ordered the government to suspend millions of dollars of funding from religious schools—known as yeshivas—whose students don’t comply with military draft notices.
• Israel’s cabinet decided to extend mandatory military service for men from 32 to 36 months, with the legislation set to be advanced next week. The move comes as the IDF faces a shortage of troops amid the war in Gaza and escalations on the Lebanese border.
• Four soldiers were wounded in a car ramming attack in central Israel; the East Jerusalem assailant was shot dead.
• The Knesset voted (July 18^th) to affirm its opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The proposal garnered support from 68 MKs, including from Benny Gantz’s centrist National Unity Party. Nine MKs from Arab parties opposed it, while the Labor Party did not attend.
• Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount/Al Aqsa compound. He said he went to pray for the return of the hostages “without a reckless deal.” Palestinians said police prevented entry to the site during Ben-Gvir’s visit. Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move as provocative.

IN THE NORTH (LEBANON):

• The IDF said that the Air Force assassinated the commander of Hezbollah’s operations in the Jouaiyya area in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah launched some 25 rockets from Lebanon at the northern Israeli community of Zar’it, with some houses sustaining serious damage.
• U.S. officials have raised concerns that Israel’s air defenses in northern Israel, including the Iron Dome system, will be overwhelmed if there is a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a report by CNN.
• Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups in the Middle East are ready to come to Lebanon to join Hezbollah in its battle with Israel if the simmering conflict escalates into a full-blown war, officials with Iran-backed factions and analysts told AP.
• The headlines about a possible war breaking out between Israel and Hezbollah in the north are misleading. By any standard, there is already a war. There has been a war for eight and a half months, with Hezbollah launching daily salvoes of rockets and exploding drones on Israeli communities and bases near the border, and Israel responding with strikes on Hezbollah targets. It’s a war in which 28 have been killed on the Israeli side and over 500 on the Lebanese. Around two-thirds of those killed on either side are either Israeli soldiers or members of Hezbollah and other terror groups, including Hamas’ Lebanese brigade.
• The only reason that much of the reporting refers to the war between Israel and Hezbollah as something that has yet to happen is that neither the Israel Defense Forces nor Hezbollah have so far unleashed anything near to their full military capabilities with regards to the size, quantity and range of munitions they have at their disposal.
• The IDF confirmed Lebanese reports that it assassinated Muhammad Nimah Nasser, who commanded the Hezbollah unit in charge of the Beqaa Valley and the southeastern Syrian border. He was killed in a drone strike in the city of Tyre (July 3^rd)
• The northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona said three rockets fell in open areas south of the city, causing no damage or casualties. The IDF said more than 100 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel.
• Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets and 20 drones at northern Israel in response to the assassination of one of its senior commanders on Wednesday July 3^rd.
• Hezbollah fired some 50 rockets at northern Israel, sparking fires in the area, saying it was in response to Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah operative Meitam Mustafa Al Atar on Saturday (July 6^th).
• Hamas said Muhammad Jabarah, a Hamas commander, was killed in a drone attack in Lebanon. A car was also attacked later in southern Lebanon.
• Education Minister Yoav Kisch said that schools will not reopen for the start of the next academic year in evacuated communities in Israel’s north.
• IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi said that Israel “will not accept Hezbollah’s presence on the border” and that “returning to October 6 is not the goal.” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the only way to prevent war with Hezbollah is the immediate implementation of UN Resolution 1701 which calls for Hezbollah to retreat beyond the Litani River.

GAZA (NORTH/CENTRAL):

• At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a school that the Hamas-run Health Ministry claimed was sheltering displaced persons in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. The IDF said the school was being used as a command center for Hamas to hide militants and manufacture weapons.
• The IDF said that an Air Force strike in northern Gaza killed a commander of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force, adding that its forces are still operating in central Gaza and Rafah.
• The Israeli army is still evaluating its assassination attempt against Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif in Khan Yunis. According to the IDF, Rafa Salama, commander of Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade, was killed in the strike.

GAZA (SOUTH):

• The IDF said that forces from its 98th Division launched an operation in Shujaiya “above and below the ground,” in response to intelligence about the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza City neighborhood.
• The IDF and Shin Bet said they killed Anas Murad, the head of Islamic Jihad’s naval force in Gaza City, and another Hamas member whom the IDF said participated in the October 7 attack. The IDF said a soldier was moderately wounded during the army’s efforts to secure the passage of aid trucks in the area of Gaza’s humanitarian corridor.
• The IDF said that Hamas rockets launched toward Israel from a safe zone in southern Gaza hit a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
• IDF troops continue to operate in Rafah and Khan Yunis, where they destroyed Hamas terror tunnels and infrastructure. Israeli tanks pushed into the Khan Yunis town of Bani Suhaila and several districts nearby were bombed for a second day, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to seek refuge elsewhere, residents told Reuters. Israel said its operation is meant to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping.
• The tunnel shaft in Khan Yunis where the bodies of hostages were found Wednesday was located following intelligence received during the interrogation of detainees from Gaza, and research on the location of the bodies of hostages in the area, the IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement.
• Israeli forces continued to operate in Khan Yunis and Rafah, attacking more than 110 Hamas targets, the IDF said.
• Israeli forces killed over 150 terrorists during a week-long operation in the eastern neighborhoods of Khan Yunis, the IDF said, adding that troops destroyed tunnels, weapons depots, terror infrastructure and other military equipment.

POST WAR GAZA:

• The Head of Israel’s National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, said that “it is impossible to make Hamas disappear as an idea,” adding that an alternative idea is necessary, “not just harming their military abilities. The alternative idea is a local leadership that is willing to live side-by-side with Israel.” Hanegbi also said Israel was discussing with the U.S. a possible joint effort with European and some Arab countries to find a replacement for Hamas rule.
• Fatah spokesman says Palestinian Authority is ready to manage Gaza after the war – report (Aug2^nd) A Fatah spokesman in an interview with Sky News said that the Palestinian Authority is ready to manage Gaza after the war and that this outlook is the Palestinian consensus.
• Hamas has informed Hezbollah that it has agreed to a proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Earlier on Friday (July 5^th), the organization said it rejected any plans for foreign forces to enter the Strip.
• Officials from the U.S., Israel and Arab states support the idea of appointing Mohammed Dahlan, a member of the Fatah faction and a former Palestinian Authority security chief, to govern Gaza after the war as part of a day-after plan, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that Dahlan has presented himself as someone who could oversee aid distribution in a new Palestinian administration of Gaza, according to Arab and Hamas officials.

 IN THE SOUTH (RED SEA):

• The UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding Yemen’s Houthi rebels halt all attacks on ships in the Red Sea and urged that the disruption to maritime security in a critical Middle East waterway be urgently addressed.
• After Israel’s attack on Yemen’s Hodeidah port, the Iran-backed Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles at Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat and attacked a U.S. ship in the Red Sea. Israel said it intercepted a Houthi missile with its Arrow 3 defense system, and CENTCOM said it shot down a Houthi drone.

WEST BANK:

• The IDF struck in the West Bank city of Tul Karm twice on Saturday (Aug 3^rd), killing five people it claimed were planning a terror attack. Israeli forces raided the city after the first strike, where they exchanged fire with armed Palestinians.
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad said one of its senior commanders was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the West Bank (June 30^th).
• Jewish settlers attacked a group of Palestinian and Israeli activists in the West Bank, wounding several.
• The IDF and Shin Bet announced that an airstrike in Tul Karm killed the Hamas commander in charge of the city. According to the statement, Ashraf Hasan Nafa was killed along with Muhammed Awad, the commander of the local Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades group.
• Australia imposed sanctions on seven Israelis for their involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, the Australian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that “The individuals sanctioned today have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians. This includes beatings, sexual assault and torture of Palestinians resulting in serious injury and in some cases, death.”
• Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled that the IDF and the police must protect Palestinians in the West Bank from settler violence, even during wartime. The court’s decision was issued in response to petitions filed by Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills, claiming that Israeli security forces are failing to provide them with protection against settler violence.

NEGOTIATIONS – HOSTAGE RELEASE – CEASE FIRE:

• Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs traveled to Egypt and returned to Israel on Saturday (Aug 3^rd) to continue negotiations for a cease-fire/hostage release deal with Hamas.
• Negotiations to reach a hostage/cease-fire deal are continuing, sources familiar with the talks told Haaretz, adding that Qatar is now holding a direct dialogue with Hamas leaders to bridge the gaps between Israel’s offer, as presented by U.S. President Joe Biden, and Hamas’ far-reaching demands. (June 23)
• PM Netanyahu said he’s still committed to the hostage release/cease-fire deal proposal presented by U.S. President Biden last month (June) after facing backlash for saying he supports a “partial” deal with Hamas.
• During the first U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 election, President Biden noted the three-phase hostage/cease-fire deal endorsed by “everyone from the UN Security Council straight through the G7 to the Israelis and [Benjamin] Netanyahu himself,” adding that “the only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas. They’re the only ones still holding out.”
• In response, Trump responded that “Actually, Israel is the one that wants to keep going, and you should let them go and let them finish the job. He [Biden] doesn’t want to do it. He’s become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian, he’s a weak one.” Asked whether he’d support the creation of an independent Palestinian state, Trump said, “I’d have to see.”
• The Biden administration has been working on a new cease-fire proposal in the hopes of getting Hamas to reconsider its opposition to the offer recently backed by Israel, though sources familiar with the negotiations say there has been no breakthrough. “Hamas needs to decide to cooperate with the proposal instead of obstructing it,” said a foreign source involved in the talks, adding that “There is significant pressure on Hamas by the U.S. government and Qatar to backtrack” on its numerous objections to the proposal (June 30^th).
• Egypt will host Israeli and U.S. delegations for talks on “outstanding points” in a potential hostage/cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, Egypt’s state-linked al-Qahera News TV reported, citing a high-level source.
• Another round of negotiations for a hostage release/cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas is set to take place in Doha on Wednesday July 10th.
• S. President Biden posted on Friday (July 12^th) that his cease-fire proposal “is now agreed to by both Israel and Hamas,” adding “There is still work to do and these are complex issues” but that his “team is making progress.”
• PM Netanyahu met in Washington, D.C. with family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and said that “The conditions for their return are ripening.” Netanyahu claimed the reason for this was “the very strong pressure” Israel exerts on Hamas. “We’re seeing a certain change and I think it’ll only get bigger, so we’re getting closer,” he added.
• Negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire deal appear to be in their closing stages (July 25^th), a senior U.S. official said. President Biden said that he is “gonna keep working to end the war in Gaza and bring home all the hostages.” Donald Trump called for a quick end to Israel’s war with Hamas and to secure the return of the hostages. Officials from the U.S.,
• In the first phase of the deal, according to the official, women and men over the age of 50, as well as sick and wounded hostages, will be released over a 42-day period. The official added while there is still no agreement on how to proceed from phase one to phase two of the deal, the remaining obstacles are bridgeable.
• Hamas rejected the new Israeli demand, according to the Palestinian and Egyptian sources. Another sticking point, the Egyptian sources said, was over Israel’s demand to retain control of Gaza’s border with Egypt. “Netanyahu is still stalling. There’s no change in his stance so far,” said Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri, who did not comment directly on Israel’s demands.
• There are still “gaps remaining in cease-fire talks” between Israel and Hamas, but the White House “believes they can be closed,” and “we need to get there soon,” National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during PM Netanyahu and President Biden’s meeting.
• IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi told soldiers in Khan Yunis on Thursday that “the hostage deal is something we are pushing for, and it is our superior task.”
• U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Qatari PM Mohammed Al Thani spoke on the phone about securing a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defense Secretary John Healey are in Qatar to drive efforts to end the conflict in Gaza. “It is absolutely vital that we engage closely with partners like Qatar, who play a key role in mediating the conflict in Gaza, so that we can bring this devastating war to an end,” Lammy said.
• Qatari PM Al Thani said that “political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?”
• Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that “we will not be able to call ourselves a country and a functioning society, and we can’t say we won” until all the hostages held in Gaza come home.
• After being asked at a press conference whether PM Netanyahu had misrepresented his desire to reach a cease-fire/hostage release deal with Hamas, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “the path that the region is on is toward more conflict, more violence, more suffering, more insecurity. And it is crucial that we break the cycle, and that starts with a cease-fire.”

GLOBAL RESPONSE & INVOLVEMENT:

• Netanyahu claimed that there was a “dramatic decrease” in arms shipments from the U.S.
• The Arab League said it no longer classifies Hezbollah as a terror group.
• The International Court of Justice in The Hague called Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem “de facto annexation” and that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

TEL AVIV/SOUTHERN ISRAEL:

• Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Tel Aviv over the weekend (June 24^th), calling for the government’s resignation and for the return of around 120 hostages still believed to be held by Hamas. Organizers said the crowds were the largest since the beginning of the war.
• Despite the demonstrations, recent polling suggests a significant majority of Israelis support the current effort, saying the response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack has either been about right (39%) or hasn’t gone far enough (34%).
• Protests against the Netanyahu government and calling for a deal to return the hostages are being held across Israel in what is being called the “Day of Resistance,” (July 7^th) marking nine months since October 7 and the beginning of the war in Gaza. Thousands of protesters marched across the country, blocked roads and demonstrated in front of the homes of coalition members.

IN THE EAST (JORDAN/IRAQ/SYRIA):

• IRAQ: The U.S. carried out a strike in Iraq in self-defense, U.S. officials told Reuters.

 

Holy Land Scripture Series

*If you would like to gain more understanding of the history of this country and conflict from a scriptural standpoint we recommend you take our Holy Land Scripture Course created to accompany our Virtual Tour of the Holy Land. Link below:

 

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

What should Israel do in order to secure peaceful borders and relations with the Palestinians and other Arab neighbors as well as facilitate the release the hostages still being held in Gaza?   

Who Should Lead the Palestinians after the Gaza War, and How?

*We know the questions are MANY and the issues deep and complex. We hope the information shared on this blog will help you process all the information and issues.

 

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