Israeli strikes killed more than two dozen Palestinians in Gaza and violated Lebanese airspace in weekend raids on August 3-4, even as Qatar said progress was made toward US-Iran talks connected to the broader regional conflict; a Board of Peace envoy met Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a day of deadly strikes and issued a statement that made no mention of Israel's territorial withdrawal
Trump's 'Board of Peace' formally announced on July 31 that Hamas agreed to disarm and Israel would withdraw from Gaza in 'carefully structured phases'; Euronews confirmed Hamas accepted the deal; Israeli far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the agreement, saying 'Israel must win'; Al Jazeera reported Palestinians remained sceptical; the deal follows 'rare progress' in Cairo mediation talks on July 30 and Trump's late-night declaration the same day that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement
Hamas said on July 28 its negotiating team would travel to Egypt to continue talks on implementing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement; on the same day Israel released 60 Palestinian detainees in the single largest such release since prisoner exchanges in October, facilitated by the Red Cross at the Kerem Shalom crossing; the Jerusalem Post reported the IDF simultaneously killed a Hamas commander and the head of Hamas's internal security service in concurrent strikes
Hamas's political bureau elected Khalil al-Hayya as its new chairman on July 20, 2026, beating former leader Khaled Meshaal in a run-off by one vote; al-Hayya, a Gaza-based veteran negotiator and one of a five-member interim leadership council since 2024, succeeds Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on July 9 setting November 28, 2026, as the date for legislative elections under proportional representation, the first since 2006; Hamas has not yet responded, Israel has not said whether it will allow voting in East Jerusalem, and Gaza's governance status remains unresolved
Egypt-based activist Abdul Hamid Abdul Ati called for a 4 PM rally across more than a dozen Gaza locations on June 26; Hamas placed security on high alert and mosque preachers urged non-attendance
Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas, ignited by the October 7, 2023 attacks, has killed over 71,000 Palestinians and triggered genocide proceedings at the International Court of Justice.
73,001 killed, famine confirmed, $17B pledged but 1% disbursed; Hamas offered a heavy-weapons inventory on June 12 and was told no by June 16