Iran has reportedly "recalibrated its approach" to retaliating against Israel and the U.S. does not expect Tehran to attack imminently. Hezbollah is reportedly looking to execute its reprisal against Israel in the coming days, CNN reported. Israel revoked the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats who worked at the country's mission to the PA in response to Norway's decision to formally recognize a Palestinian state. The PA's foreign minister called on the ICJ to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for saying that "it may be moral and just" to starve two million Gazans until Hamas releases the remaining Israeli hostages it is holding in the Strip.
Here's what you need to know 307 days into the war
What happened today
A supporter wearing a costume holds a placard with an image of Ariel Bibas, who has been held hostage in Gaza since the deadly October 7 Hamas attack, during a commemoration of his 5th birthday in Tel Aviv on Monday.
■ ISRAEL-LEBANON: Hezbollah looks increasingly like it may strike Israel independent of whatever Iran may intend to do, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the intelligence. Hezbollah is moving faster than Iran in its planning and is looking to strike Israel in the coming days, one of the sources said. Iran, multiple officials have told CNN, appears to still be working out how it plans to respond.
The IDF said that Air Force fighter jets attacked Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon overnight into Thursday. Some 15 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, with most falling in open areas.
The Saudi news channel Al Hadath reported that an Israeli strike on a vehicle driving along the road connecting the villages of Yarine and Jibbain in southern Lebanon killed one person and wounded two.
During a readiness assessment of Israel's Home Front Command, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that "there is a psychological attempt by the enemy to sow fear and instill terror," adding that "we are working to give the public sufficient warning" ahead of a possible attack, "and until then allow them to continue a normal lifestyle."
■ HANIYEH ASSASSINATION: U.S. officials have conveyed to Iran via various intermediaries that, if the blast that killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was indeed caused by a covert Israeli operation and did not kill any Iranian citizens, then the Islamic Republic should reevaluate its plan to launch a military attack on Israel, Politico reported, adding that the officials said "Tehran seems to have recalibrated and the U.S. does not expect an attack on Israel imminently."
The Canadian government announced that it has decided to evacuate the children and guardians of its diplomats in Israel, the Canadian Press reported.
Air France extended its suspension of flights to and from Beirut until August 11.
"Iran is reconsidering its steps, even as the circumstances surrounding the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week are gradually emerging. The killing, according to Washington Post analyst David Ignatius, used an explosive device planted in Haniyeh's room at a guest house operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards – not by means of a missile fired from long distance. Somehow, according to the unwritten rules of the game in the Middle East, this is probably seen as less of a provocation in the eyes of the regime" – Amos Harel
■ HOSTAGES/CEASE-FIRE: U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told PBS that President Biden "is determined to hold both sides' feet to the fire to get to a conclusion where we have a cease-fire and a hostage deal" between Israel and Hamas.
■ GAZA: World Central Kitchen said that Nadi Sallout, one of its Palestinian aid workers, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. The organization, which lost seven workers in an Israeli air strike in April, said that Sallout was killed on Wednesday night while he was apparently off duty, and added that he was "an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah."
The IDF called on residents of areas in southeast Gaza to evacuate to a humanitarian zone.
Gaza rescue services reported that 15 people were killed in strikes on schools in Shujeiyah, which the IDF said were Hamas headquarters. Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian medics reported that Israeli forces had stepped up strikes across the Strip.
According to numbers issued Thursday by the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 39,699 Palestinians were killed and 91,722 wounded since the start of the war.
"It was Yahya Sinwar and not Ismail Haniyeh who had always been the decision-maker, a role he ensured himself from the war he started with Israel and his control over the fate of the hostages. Sinwar was the one who decided to make the major concession in May when Hamas agreed that its demand for a permanent cease-fire and full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip would only take place after the first, 'humanitarian' phase of the agreement. In doing so, he improved the chances of reaching a deal. His new role as head of the political bureau, thus putting him in charge of Hamas' military and political wings, doesn't change the dynamics of the talks, which now await a move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" – Zvi Bar'el
■ ISRAEL: Israel informed Norway that it is revoking the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats who worked at the country's mission to the Palestinian Authority in response to Norway's decision to formally recognize a Palestinian state. The move will result in the cessation of Norwegian diplomatic operations in both Israel and the West Bank. Norway's foreign ministry called the decision "an extreme act that primarily affects our ability to help the Palestinian population."
In an interview with TIME, PM Netanyahu was asked about his accountability for October 7, given that the heads of Israel's defense establishment have apologized for their role, and said now is not the time to deal with this question. "Apologize? Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened," Netanyahu said, adding that "there'll be enough time to deal with it. But I think that dealing with it now is a mistake. We're in the midst of a war, a seven-front war. I think we have to concentrate on one thing: winning," he said.
■ ICJ: The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on the International Court of Justice at The Hague to issue an arrest warrant against Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for his comments that "it may be moral and just" to starve two million Gazans until Hamas releases the remaining hostages held in the Strip, but that "no one in the world will allow us to do that."
■ U.K.: Britain saw almost 2,000 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2024, a record figure for the first six months of any year, a Jewish advisory body said. The Community Security Trust (CST), which advises Britain's estimated 280,000 Jews on security matters, said more than half of the incidents recorded were related to Israel, Gaza, Hamas or the current conflict in the region.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy joined his French and German counterparts in strongly condemning Finance Minister Smotrich's comments about starving Gazans, writing on X that "there can be no justification for Minister Smotrich's remarks and we expect the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them."
■ HOUTHIS: The leader of the Iran-backed Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said that there will be a response to the Israeli attack at the port of Hodeidah last month, and that all parties in the Iranian-led axis of resistance made a joint decision to attack Israel. The delay in the response is due to tactical reasons, al-Houthi said.