Israeli delegation departure to Qatar postponed until after Netanyahu-Biden meeting: Day 292 of the Gaza war

Thank you for following our live updates of the Gaza war and its impact on the region, particularly Lebanon. 

Stay tuned for more coverage starting tomorrow morning. 

“Lebanon and its region remain in imminent danger, but a diplomatic solution is still possible,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said today during a U.N. Security Council session. She presented the report drafted by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Resolution 1701.

In remarks reported by the National News Agency (NNA), Hennis-Plasschaert rejected the notion that a full-scale conflict is inevitable. “Both Lebanon and Israel have declared that they do not want war,” she said. She also expressed hope that an “agreement on Gaza could immediately return things to normal along the Blue Line,” which serves as the demarcation between the two countries.

To read more about what she said, press here.👈

Two container ships have docked in Yemen's Hodeida harbor, the first since a deadly Israeli strike hit fuel storage tanks at the port, according to Huthi media and ship trackers, reported AFP 

The Israeli strike on Yemen's port of Hodeida has released hazardous emissions and caused fuel spills, experts said, compounding environmental pollution already worsened by oil spills from Huthi ship attacks.

Pro-Palestinian protesters near the U.S. Capitol before Netanyahu's address to Congress on July 24, 2024, in Washington. (Credit: Andrew Thomas/AFP)

Thousands of demonstrators gathered around the U.S. Congress in Washington to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech and call for a cease-fire in Gaza, devastated by more than nine months of war, reported AFP.

The crowd, which included numerous Palestinian flags, gathered around the Capitol building in the center of the U.S. capital. With slogans such as “Free Palestine,” they angrily demonstrated at the arrival of Netanyahu, against whom the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested an arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

⚡Israel has postponed its delegation's visit to Qatar, initially scheduled for Thursday, to negotiate a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal. The visit has been rescheduled for next week, according to an Israeli official cited by Reuters.

The official stated that the delegation will depart only after President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu discuss ways to advance the deal during their meeting in Washington on Thursday.

Destruction caused by the drone strike on Khiam.

- Israeli artillery ignited fires when it hit the outskirts of Kfar Shouba (Hasbaya), according to residents quoted by our correspondent.

- Israeli artillery also shelled a neighborhood in the village of Khiam (Marjayoun), according to residents. An Israeli drone also bombed a neighborhood in the same village.

A drone carrying the Hezbollah flag in Aaramta, May 2023, during a party military parade to celebrate the liberation of southern Lebanon. (Credit: Illustration photo/Anwar Amro/AFP/Archives)

Hezbollah has posted an eight-minute video on its war media Telegram channel, showing images of what it claims is “the Ramat-David air base” in Israel.

This is the third in a series of videos dubbed “Hudhud” — which in English translates to the hoopoe, Israel's national bird — showing drone-filmed images of strategic civilian and military sites identified as “targets” inside Israel. 

To find out more about what came in Hezbollah's Hudhud video, press here.👈

“We are ready and determined to defeat the enemy, the Northern Nahal Brigade is accelerating its preparations for combat in Lebanon,” said Arabic-speaking Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee on X.

He detailed military exercises carried out since the beginning of the week which “envisage combat scenarios in Lebanon”, and he added: “This is the first time that the Northern Nahal Brigade has been called up for military work on the northern borders and to play an important role in defensive and offensive combat on the borders with Lebanon.”

Two Israeli airstrikes targeted Tayr Harfa, in the Sour district of southern Lebanon, residents report to our correspondent.

The attacks targeted three homes in various parts of the village, completely destroying them.

No injuries have yet been reported.

Israel's far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, has reported praying in the compound of Jerusalem's highly sensitive Mosque Esplanade, again defying the long-standing rule that Jews are allowed to visit but not pray there.

“I am the political leadership, and the political leadership authorizes prayers on the Temple Mount (...). I prayed on the Temple Mount last week”, said Gvir, speaking at a symposium at the Israeli Parliament entitled "Israel's return to the Temple Mount," Judaism's holiest site.

According to Middle East Eye, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lashed out at Ben Gvir in a post on X, where he blasted “an arsonist who is trying to set the Middle East ablaze.”

“I oppose any negotiations to bring him into the war cabinet - it would allow him to implement his plans,” added Gallant. The war cabinet was dissolved last June by Benjamin Netanyahu.

American billionaire Elon Musk announced on his platform X, which he owns, that the internet network provided by "Starlink is now active in a Gaza hospital with the support of the United Arab Emirates and Israel."

While the Gaza Strip is frequently deprived of internet connection due to the near-daily bombings by the Israeli air force since the start of the war, a hospital in the Palestinian enclave now reportedly has humanitarian internet access thanks to Starlink, Musk's company. The specific hospital name was not mentioned.

Control over internet and phone network access in the Palestinian territories has been a practice of the Israeli government for "three decades," as noted by the Washington Post.

- Israeli artillery shelling targeted an area between Markaba and Houla (Marjayoun district), according to residents.

- Israeli artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district) and the area between the towns of Mais al-Jabal (Marjayoun district) and Shaqra (Bint Jbeil district).

- An Israeli raid targeted a house in the town of Houla (Marjayoun district). No casualties were reported, according to residents. Two artillery shells also targeted the outskirts of the town.

- An Israeli drone raid targeted the town of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district) and destroyed a house.

Here are the developments in southern Lebanon overnight, according to security sources cited by our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah:

- Around 9 p.m., the Israeli air force launched a raid on Shihine (Sour district), destroying a center of the al-Rissal Scouts (affiliated with the Amal movement) which was being used as a new headquarters by the organization's rescuers. No casualties were reported.

- Around 10 p.m., Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an attack on "a group of Israeli soldiers moving in the al-Assi site," opposite the Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal (Bint Jbeil district), using "rockets," according to their statement.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has shared a letter he received from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemning his assassination attempt on his “Social Truth” social network.

The letter, signed by the President of the Palestinian Authority and sent from Ramallah on July 14, states that “acts of violence have no place in a world of law and order”. The image shared by the current Republican candidate also shows his written reply to Abbas: “Mahmoud - So kind - Thank you - Everything will be fine.”

The release of this letter comes just hours after Trump announced that he would welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago hotel in Florida.

The war has forced the majority of the 2.4 million people in Gaza to relocate, with the U.N. stating that no place in Gaza is safe.

The World Health Organization has expressed concern about potential epidemics in Gaza, adding that 14,000 people may need medical evacuation out of the territory, which is severely lacking in essential supplies.

Alongside Qatar and Egypt, Washington is trying to revive negotiations for a cease-fire coupled with the release of hostages. An Israeli delegation is expected in Doha on Thursday.

Increasing pressure on their government, a crowd of Israelis once again demonstrated last night in Tel Aviv, demanding an agreement to secure the release of the hostages.

"Seal the deal," read some of the signs.

During his visit to the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to deliver a speech to Congress today. Later in the week, he will meet with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump, the latter two being candidates in the upcoming November presidential election.

Washington, a key ally and significant military supporter of Israel, has expressed frustration over the consequences of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. The U.S. has emphasized the importance of protecting civilians and allowing humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, which has been under an Israeli blockade for over nine months and is at risk of famine, according to the U.N.

The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas and based in the West Bank, welcomed the agreement, which U.N. chief Antonio Guterres called an "important step" towards an "independent Palestinian state."

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and refuses to halt its offensive in Gaza until the Islamist movement, which took power in 2007, two years after Israel's withdrawal from the territory it occupied for 38 years, is dismantled.

In Beijing, Hamas announced it had signed an agreement with 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah. The agreement outlines a "temporary national unity government, with the consent of the Palestinian factions," which "would exercise its authority and powers over all Palestinian territories"—the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

Israel rejected an agreement between Hamas and Fatah for joint governance of Palestinian territories following the war in Gaza, where residents continue to flee areas bombarded by the Israeli army.

"This will not happen because Hamas will be crushed, and [Mahmoud] Abbas (the Fatah leader) will watch Gaza from afar," said Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz. Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967 and is conducting an offensive in Gaza in response to an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7. "Instead of rejecting terrorism, Mahmoud Abbas embraces murderers," Katz added.

Make sure to read the Morning Brief to catch up on yesterday's events and today's upcoming ones.

Good morning! Thank you for joining us for today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its regional impacts.