War Day 307: Hostage Mediation Summit Scheduled, Fires Up North

War Summary, Day 307: The three mediators of the hostage deal -US, Qatar, and Egypt-released a joint statement calling for a grand summit, to take place on August 15th, for the creation of a ceasefire-hostage deal, Gallant confirms that Israelis will receive some kind of advance warning before the Iran attack, and an increasing number of intelligence reports indicate that Hezbollah may begin their attack separately from Iran.

War Summary, Day 307:

115 held captive in Gaza.
41 hostages confirmed murdered in Gaza.
116 living hostages rescued.
24 hostage bodies rescued.
1,616 Israelis killed.
331 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
19 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
9 fallen soldiers in Judea & Samaria.
20,590 estimated rockets fired at Israel.
90,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

• Hostage deal mediators announce Camp David-like summit on August 15
• Gallant confirms, Israelis will receive some kind of advance warning before the Iran attack
• Iran says it is not deterred from attacking Israel
• New Khan Younis operation launched
• Israel warned Lebanese civilians with written warning and drone messages
• Israel revoked diplomatic status for 8 Norwegian diplomats in Israel
• The PA might finally pay their $2B electric bill

Hostage Updates:

The three mediators of the hostage deal (US, Qatar, and Egypt) released a joint statement calling for a grand summit, to take place on August 15th, for the creation of a ceasefire-hostage deal.

In the statement, they wrote: “It is time, immediately, to put an end to the long-standing suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip, as well as the hostages and their families. It is time to finalize a ceasefire agreement and release the hostages and detainees. No more time should be wasted, and there should be no excuses by any party for further postponement.”

The idea sounds very similar to the Camp David summits of 1978 (with Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat, in which Israel agreed to give the Sinai to Egypt in exchange for peace) and 2000 (when Prime Minister Ehud Barak shook hands with Yasser Arafat, who then turned down all offers and launched the Second Intifada). The summits typically put the negotiating teams in a high-intensity environment of nonstop negotiations, with no one leaving until a deal is made, or one party is blamed for the failure.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office released a statement confirming that Israel will send a delegation to present Israel’s proposal and framework of agreement.

While any believe that Sinwar is desperate to be able to come out of the tunnels alive, and may therefore now agree to a deal, sources told the Emirati new site “The National” that Sinwar has consistently conveyed an uncompromising position to the mediators on the key points of contention in the agreement, and as soon as he took over Haniyeh as the political leader of Hamas, he let the Egyptian mediators know that he won’t agree to anything that doesn’t include a ceasefire with a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza immediately, and the release of numerous high-profile terrorist security prisoners from Israel.

Meanwhile, PM Netanyahu has made it clear that he won’t agree to anything that leaves Hamas still standing (such as a permanent ceasefire without Hamas disarming), and allows them to continue smuggling weapons from Egypt (which would happen if Israel evacuates the Philadelphi Corridor).

In an interview with the Times Magazine, Netanyahu said that he’d “like to see a civilian administration run by Gazans, perhaps with the support of regional partners. Demilitarization by Israel, civilian administration by Gaza.” He described it as similar to the situation in Judea and Samaria, “It means that they should run their own lives. They should vote for their own institutions. They should have their own self-governance. But they should not have the power to threaten us.”

Iran & Proxies Attack Updates:

Home Front Command directives remain unchanged. Speaking at a Home Front assessment meeting, Defense Minister Gallant confirmed that the IDF aims to provide civilians with a sufficient warning in advance of Iran and Hezbollah’s attacks. He also emphasized that the Israeli resilience and ability to carry on with routine life during this time allows the IDF to make the right operational decisions.

An increasing number of intelligence reports (including one reported by CNN) indicate that Hezbollah may begin their attack separately from Iran. As a reminder, Hezbollah is retaliating to the assassination of it’s second-in-command, Fuad Shukr, and Iran is retaliating for Haniyeh, the head of Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran. Hezbollah may want to keep their message clear, especially since they are Shia Muslims, and Hamas is Sunni. Iran is much further from Israel, and their fastest ballistic missiles take 12 minutes to reach Israel—so even with the most minimal intelligence, it is much easier to give advanced warning for than Hezbollah attacks, which arrive in 7 seconds to a minute.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the US sent direct and indirect messages to Iran that its new government and its economy would suffer a “devastating” blow if it carried out a large-scale attack against Israel.

According to Israel Hayom, Iran’s representation at the UN denied reports about the possibility that it would agree to give up an attack against Israel, and stated: “We are working to punish the aggressor for the assassination of Haniyeh.”

The Israel defense establishment has been holding round-the-clock meetings for preparedness, and is showing intent to respond immediately, in both defense and offense. The cabinet is reportedly meeting in the IDF headquarters underground bunker through the night, and is still there nearing 3AM.

The United States Central Command announced that US Air Force F-22 fighter jets arrived to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility in the Middle East today, “as part of US force posture changes in the region and to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.”

The Shin Bet security agency has uncovered a new set of fake social media accounts used by Iranian intelligence in an attempt to recruit Israeli civilians for tasks that would harm state security. These accounts, operating on platforms like Telegram, posed as legitimate users offering high-paying jobs. Some Israelis who received suspicious messages reported them to authorities. The Shin Bet urges the public to remain cautious online and report any suspicious activity. This isn’t the first time Iranian operatives have attempted to target Israelis through social media.

Gaza Front Updates:

Hamas did not successfully fire any rockets into Israel today.

Thank G-d, the IDF did not announce any fallen heroes today.

Three divisions of IDF troops are currently operating in Gaza: the 252nd Division along the Netzarim Corridor, and on pinpoint operations in Central Gaza; the Gaza Division in the buffer zone; and the 162nd Division in Rafah and along the Philadelphi Corridor. The IDF carried out dozens of airstrikes against Hamas (and PIJ) targets, including rocket launchers, terrorist squads, and buildings used by Hamas.

Two intelligence-based precision airstrikes targeted Hamas command centers which were embedded in two schools in Gaza City’s Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods. Reports indicate that dozens of terrorists were eliminated in the airstrikes.

The IDF confirmed that an airstrike on July 24th eliminated Nael Sakhel, a senior Hamas member whose role was financing and providing weapons to the Hamas branch in Judea and Samaria for the purpose of terror attacks in Israel. Sakhel used to live in Judea and Samaria, until he was arrested by the IDF in 2003 and given a life sentence for his involvement in a suicide bombing in Israel. In 2011 he was released in the Gilad Shalit deal, along with 1,027 other terrorists, and was exiled to Gaza.

Troops in the Netzarim Corridor continue to locate and destroy Hamas infrastructure, with a focus on the Central Gaza area, and today directed an airstrike at a strategic Hamas observation post nearby.

The IDF once again called for civilians to evacuate from Khan Younis—this time including its suburbs, announcing that the IDF will forcefully operate against terror groups in the area. Reports on ground indicate that the IDF has already begun operating in the southern Gaza city.

Troops operating in Rafah located several rocket launchers in the Gaza-Egypt border area, right next to Gaza’s largest fuel depot, and carefully destroyed them without damaging the fuel supply. In other areas of Gaza, troops eliminated terrorists in close-quarters combat and destroyed Hamas infrastructure. In the Tel Sultan neighborhood, troops used a drone to search a building before entering, and discovered that it was rigged with explosives, and empty of hostages, and so they blew up the building instead of entering.

Gaza Humanitarian Efforts Updates:

On August 7th:

271 trucks carrying humanitarian goods were transferred to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings.
About 640 trucks worth are still waiting for collection.
8 tankers of fuel and 6 tankers of cooking gas designated for the operation of essential infrastructure were transferred at the request of humanitarian aid organizations.
7 ambulances were inspected and transferred to Gaza yesterday.
A rotation coordination of humanitarian personnel was successfully completed.
13 bakeries are operational (7 in northern Gaza and 6 in central Gaza), producing close to 3 million pita loaves a day.

An estimated 1.9 million Palestinians of the 2.3 million Gazan population are currently in the humanitarian zone, located in the al-Mawasi area on the Strip’s coast, western neighborhoods of Khan Younis, and central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.

Northern Front Updates:

Hezbollah continued launching barrages of dozens of rockets and anti-tank missiles on Israel’s far north. No injuries were reported, however a large fire broke out across a 10 kilometers stretch of wild thorn bushes near the town of Abdon. Seven fire crews were still working at night to get the fire under control.

The Ministry of Health has begun evacuating patients with special medical needs who live up to 10 km from the northern border, to homes with facilities and care adequate to their needs during wartime.

The Israeli Air Force struck several Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, with strikes on buildings where terrorists were known to be gathering, and a direct hit on a terrorist in his car (an almost daily occurrence now).

Defense Minister Galant posted on social media what may be the final warning to Hezbollah, with an appeal to civilians:
“Shiite Iran and those who submit [to its ideology], led by Hezbollah, have taken Lebanon and its people hostage for the sake of narrow sectarian interests. The State of Israel seeks peace, prosperity and stability on both sides of the northern border. Therefore, we will not allow the Hezbollah militia to destabilize the border and the region. If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will fight it, with all its might. Remember Nasrallah’s regret following the dangerous and miscalculated adventure he embarked upon in August 2006: Learn the lesson of the past so as not to fall into a dangerous scenario in August 2024. He who plays with fire may expect destruction.”

Later in the evening, drones with speakers attached flew over Southern Lebanon at a low altitude, playing a recording on repeat, saying, “This is all thanks to Hezbollah.”

Meanwhile in Syria, an alleged Israeli airstrike destroyed a weapons depot near the Shairat military airport in the Homs region. (As reported by The Syrian Center for Human Rights)

Sources told the Saudi network “Al-Hadth” that the Syrian Chief of Staff, Abdel-Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim, agreed to make moves against Israel, in support of Iran, without the knowledge of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—and in mid-July agreed to launch drones from Syria towards Israel. According to the publication, the Syrian general also visited Tehran to strengthen relations with the Iranians, and it is believed that he agreed to transfer weapons from the Syrian army to Hezbollah.

Judea and Samaria Updates:

Overnight, the IDF demolished the home of Mamoun Faiz Muhammad Khalil, a terrorist who carried out a stabbing attack in Gan Yavne on March 31, in which he killed Lidor Levi, and seriously injured two others. Khalil, 19, was eliminated by police during the attack. As part of its policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians involved in deadly terror attacks.

At the demolished home, the military hung up a large poster reading: “Hamas = ISIS.”

Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced that he ordered the revocation of diplomatic status for 8 Norwegian diplomats in Israel who were dealing with Palestinian Authority affairs. Katz explained that this was a result of Norway’s one-sided policy on the Palestinian issue, in which rather than fighting terrorism after October 7th, Norway chose to recognize a Palestinian State and join the baseless lawsuit against Israel at the ICC.

Norway will no longer be able to assist in the transfer of tax funds earmarked for the Palestinian Authority (PA) that were collected by Israel.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has racked up an over $2 billion electric bill, after refusing to pay the Israeli electric company for decades. According to a report in Israel Hayom, the Finance Ministry has finally convinced the PA to agree to pay up. It is unclear when and how this will happen. Until now, Israelis have been paying higher electric bills in order to cover the cost for residents of PA controlled cities and towns.