News roundup for Monday, August 3, 2026, Day 1,032 since Israel began its 2023 genocide on the Palestinian people.
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM GAZA:
For some basic info on the Palestine-Israel conflict, go here. For more critical context, skim this, this, and this. To read about a remarkable but underreported, 20-month-long peaceful protest in Gaza against Israel, go here.
An Israeli strike on a civilian car southwest of Gaza City killed two Palestinians and injured several others on Monday night.
Board of Peace says no Israeli withdrawal* from Gaza before Hamas disarms: After meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu**, the director of Trump’s so-called Board of Peace adopted Israel’s viewpoint on Hamas disarmament: that disarmament – part of Phase Two of the ceasefire deal – must happen before Israeli withdrawal. The Hamas perspective demands that Israel fulfill its Phase One obligations before any disarmament takes place.
When the deal was initially announced, statements from President Trump and the BoP’s top envoy for Gaza, Bulgarian politician Nickolay Mladenov, said that Hamas’s disarmament would happen as Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. “Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning,” Mladenov wrote on X.
*NOTE: According to the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, signed by Hamas and Israel on October 9, 2025, the IDF was required to withdraw troops to specified lines and not return; all military operations were to be suspended; and Israel was to begin allowing entry of at least 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid per day.
Today, Israel has not only not withdrawn, it is holding more of Gaza than before – from 53% to approaching 70% (with possible plans for 100%); military operations have continued, with almost daily attacks and at least 1,250 Palestinians killed; and an average of about 87 truckloads of aid have entered Gaza per day.
**NOTE: As usual, Israel is stalling the ceasefire agreement by moving the goalposts in the middle of negotiations. Netanyahu has repeatedly delayed ceasefire agreements – he has said as much – Israeli media report it as well.
Hamas’ demand is merely to stick with the arrangement that both sides agreed to.
DEATH TOLL – GAZA GENOCIDE (tentative):
- At least 1,250 since “ceasefire” began Oct. 11, 2025 (270 children). Children, women, and the elderly account for 35.3% of those killed and 49.1% of those wounded.
- 5 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began – one by friendly fire, and four others in incidents during the first three weeks of the ceasefire.
- 73,375 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls) since October 2023
- More statistics below
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM:
Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem endure dozens of incidents like the ones below, at the hands of Israeli soldiers and/or settlers. For background on the West Bank, read this and this. For information on the significance of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, read this and this.)
$37 Million for Settlements: Israel Funds ‘Heritage Sites’ across Occupied West Bank: The Israeli Knesset approved in May legislation establishing the so-called “Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority,” with the purpose of confiscating Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader-era archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank under the authority of Israel’s Heritage Ministry.
‘They want to make us leave’: Israel destroys West Bank wells serving Palestinian herders: Residents of Ras al-Ahmar say the destruction of their main water source follows months of settler attacks.
Israeli forces and settlers reportedly carried out 2,256 attacks during July: The Israeli army was responsible for 1,458 attacks, while 798 were carried out by Israeli settlers.
Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian land south of Nablus
Israeli settlers attack West Bank villages, pepper spray elderly Palestinian
Three Palestinians injured in Israeli raid of eastern Nablus
Soldiers, Colonizers (i.e. Settlers) Escalate Attacks Across West Bank
Occupation Forces Widen Demolitions, Bulldoze West Bank Lands
DEATH TOLL – WEST BANK/EAST JERUSALEM (tentative):
NEWS & HEADLINES FROM ISRAEL:
Israel is a tiny country, about the size of New Jersey, with a population smaller than the US state of Georgia – about 10 million (of which about 20 percent are Palestinians), yet it is in the news constantly. As has been demonstrated again and again, however, mainstream media rarely covers Israel news accurately. IAK gets the facts – sometimes from Israeli media sites, where we can get a glimpse inside this country that is rife with turmoil and contradictions, and that receives $63 million a day from America.
Emigration from Israel remained at a record high in 2025, study finds https://t.co/PAh0SmmtGL
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) August 3, 2026
IRAN, LEBANON, & SYRIA – NEWS & HEADLINES:
It can not be overemphasized that Israel is the impetus behind US policies and actions vis-a-vis Iran. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing the US to attack Iran for decades, using lies and deception. Under President Trump, he got his wish.
Israel has invaded Lebanon seven times in the last half century. Between 1978 and 2000, Israel maintained an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon — Hezbollah was formed to fight that occupation.
Although Israel is not at war with Syria, the Israeli army has reportedly carried out over 1,600 violations inside Syrian territory since August 2025, and demanded the demilitarization of southern Syria – but also vowed to permanently occupy some areas.
IRAN
CNN: US military asks troops for ‘creative and unconventional’ ideas to punish Iran: A CENTCOM intel officer reportedly emailed a broad group of military analysts Wednesday, “We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,”
The unusual crowdsourcing-style query, which military officials said was unusual over email suggests Trump is running out of options. Hoping to find an alternative, the official at CENTCOM kicked off the brainstorming session via email to see if anyone had a better idea.
US President Donald Trump says talks with Iran are under way, warning that the negotiations are Tehran’s “last chance” to secure a deal and end the five-month conflict. Tehran denies talks with Washington.
Trump says he wants to give Iran ‘last chance’ before ‘decapitation’
Trump accuses Iran of mixed signals, repeats demand for nuclear deal or ‘total surrender’
Trump says he will not let Iran charge for Hormuz transit
LEBANON
Israeli forces drop missiles, phosphorus* bombs on southern Lebanon
*NOTE: Use of white phosphorus in civilian areas is considered a war crime due to its extremely dangerous effects on the human body. White phosphorus ignites instantly when in contact with oxygen. It can burn through the human body, including through bone, causing severe, excruciating damage. It can also cause extreme harm when inhaled, with risks of suffocation, cardiovascular failure, coma, death, and other lifelong effects. The substance burns at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
DEATH TOLL – WARS ON IRAN & LEBANON (tentative):
- United States: 18 since Feb. 28, 2026
- Iran: at least 3,636 (1,701 civilians) since Feb. 28, 2026 (another source puts the number at 3,499)
- Lebanon: at least 4,333 people since March 2, 2026
- Arab states: at least 154 (including Palestine, excluding Lebanon)
- Israel: at least 60 people (Iran killed 20 civilians; Hezbollah killed 36 soldiers, 4 civilians)
MORE NEWS & HEADLINES:
NYPD Used High-Tech Surveillance to Find Gaza Paint Splatter Protester, Docs Show: Throwing paint on a statue at Columbia seems like a minor crime, but cops use tremendous resources when pro-Palestine protesters are in the crosshairs.
Palestine Football Association says FIFA failed to enforce rules against Israel: PFA says more than 1,013 players, staff, officials and community members across Palestinian football have been killed in Gaza as FIFA delayed action on longstanding complaints.
Visa to acquire Israeli fraud detection company BioCatch for $2.4B
US defense technology company appoints former Mossad chief as global president: David Barnea served as Mossad director from 2021 to 2026, leading Israeli intelligence agency during period marked by multiple-front conflicts and direct confrontations with Iran.
ICYMI, A SELECTION OF YESTERDAY’S HEADLINES:
New statistics on Israel’s actions in Gaza during “ceasefire”
Israeli settler gangs shoot 10-year old Palestinian child in latest West Bank pogrom
Court freezes transfer of crocodiles to prison moat, putting Ben Gvir’s plan on hold
How much has AIPAC spent against Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed?
(Read yesterday’s daily update here.)
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – August 3, 2026*:
- At least 74,560 Palestinians killed, 187,220 injured – including:
- Gaza: at least 73,375 killed (~22,000 children, 33,000 women and girls), 174,220 injured. Children, women, and the elderly account for 35.3% of those killed and 49.1% of those wounded during the “ceasefire”
- West Bank/East Jerusalem: at least 1,185 killed (~251 children) since Oct. 7, 2023, 13,000 injured
*NOTE: Thousands of remains in Gaza have yet to be identified, and thousands more are still buried under rubble; others are reportedly missing.
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 3, 2026: ~1,663 – including ~1,139** on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 472 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, about 52 military and civilians (by one count, there have been 59 victims) in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel (these numbers do not include deaths from the conflicts with Lebanon or Iran).
**NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
- Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
- The Real Munitions Shortage Transcends the Iran War
- ‘A Living Hell’: A Gaza Survivor Recalls Torture in Israeli Detention
- Palestinian child unconscious, faces possible foot amputation after Israeli detention: NGO
- Is Spain being punished for supporting Palestinians?
- The pro-Israel lobby has swayed US presidents since Truman. It must end with Trump
- Visuals Suggest U.S. Dropped 2,000-Pound Bomb on Home in Iran, Killing 3
- U.S. general warns Pentagon he lacks sufficient forces to protect Israel
- Flashback: The 50th anniversary of the occupation will rock the Jewish establishment
- Eliyahu, son of the Hebron massacre perpetrator, leads West Bank settlement expansion
- After Israel killed her three sons, she found hope in a newborn. Then he was killed too
- Israeli army detonates 700 tons of explosives near Lebanon’s historic Beaufort Castle
- Barry Goldwater Exposed the Power of the Israel Lobby in 1988
- Understanding Section 219
- Settler violence is state violence in the West Bank
