Live: 54 Palestinians killed, 831 wounded in 24 hours

Four Palestinians were killed early Monday after an Israeli air strike hit the Shujaiya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, according to local media reports.

The strike targeted a group of civilians, marking another deadly attack in the ongoing bombardment of residential areas.

The humanitarian aid trickling into Gaza falls far short of meeting basic needs, according to Dr Mohammed Abu Afash, director of Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Gaza.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Abu Afash said: “The aid entering Gaza is not enough to feed one percent of the Strip's population.”

He warned that malnutrition cases continue to surge while many types of food have been unavailable for months.

“The amount of clean water in the Gaza Strip does not meet the needs of the population,” he added, noting that the health system has collapsed under pressure and disease is now spreading rapidly.

He called for urgent humanitarian corridors to safely deliver supplies to those in need. 

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian from the Jenin refugee camp near the town of Qabatiya in the northern occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

The forces reportedly surrounded a home where the man had sought refuge and fired shells at the building before detaining his body.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir led hundreds of settlers in storming Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on Sunday, were they loudly performed Jewish Talmudic prayer, under a heavy police guard, and attempted to antagonise Muslim worshippers.

Videos seen by Middle East Eye showed hundreds of settlers storming the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque where some could be seen dancing and shouting, disrupting the sanctity of the Muslim place of worship.

The status quo in Jerusalem has long maintained that Jewish prayer is forbidden on the raised plateau in occupied East Jerusalem's Old City, where Al-Aqsa Mosque stands.

However, over the past century, Zionist groups have repeatedly violated the fragile arrangement, launching unprecedented attacks on one of Islam's holiest sites. 

Residents in Jerusalem's Old City told MEE that before and after Ben Gvir's raid, the area had come to resemble a "military base" due to the "many checkpoints" that had been set up and the "heavy Israeli security presence".

Read more: Under heavy guard, Israel's Ben Gvir leads settler raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israeli warplanes bombed a residential home in Deir al-Balah, killing three people, according to medical officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates on Israel's war on Gaza:

• Palestinian captive dies in Israeli prison: A 20-year-old from Jenin, Ahmed Saeed Tazazeh, has died in Megiddo prison, says the Palestinian Detainees Ministry. Israel held him as an "administrative detainee" since May. He is the sixth prisoner to die there since the Gaza war began.

• Gaza casualties mount: The Palestinian Health Ministry reports at least 119 Palestinians killed and 866 wounded in Israeli attacks on Sunday. Medics say 16 were struck while seeking aid.

• Court orders body return justification: Israel’s Supreme Court gave the army 48 hours to explain why it continues to withhold the body of Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian shot dead by a West Bank settler.

• Australia pledges Gaza aid: The government announced new humanitarian assistance for women and children in Gaza, following protests by 90,000 demonstrators in Sydney.

• Hamas sets Red Cross conditions: The group said it would permit Red Cross access to captives only if Israel keeps aid crossings open and pauses air strikes during deliveries.

• Ben Gvir inflames tensions: Israel’s far-right security minister violated the status quo by entering Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque courtyard, drawing condemnation from Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.

• Drone intercepted near Gaza: The Israeli military said it shot down a drone launched from Yemen after sirens sounded near the border.

Our live coverage from Gaza will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of the day's key developments:

Australia announced today that it is making a further humanitarian contribution of $20 million in response to "the catastrophe in Gaza."

The additional donation will support organisations with the scale and capacity to respond quickly, delivering food, medical supplies for field hospitals, and other lifesaving support to women and children in Gaza, a statement shared by Senator Penny Wong said.

The latest contribution brings the total donation from the Australian Government to more than $130 million to support civilians in Gaza and Lebanon since 7 October 2023.

"Australia has consistently been part of the international call on Israel to allow a full and immediate resumption of aid into Gaza, in line with the binding orders of the International Court of Justice," the statement read, as it called for "the suffering and starvation of civilians in Gaza" to end.

"Australia will continue to work with the international community towards an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages and a two-state solution — the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and Palestinian peoples."

Australia is today making a further humanitarian contribution in response to the catastrophe in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/r75efGtuvA

— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) August 3, 2025

The Israeli captive families slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he signalled an expansion of the war on Gaza, saying Hamas is not interested in a deal, The Times of Israel reported.

“For 22 months now the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back,” the families said in a joint statement.

“Even before the draft for a comprehensive deal was written, they’re telling us that an agreement is not feasible,” the statement added.

“The truth must be told: Expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages who are at risk of imminent death.”

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), has condemned Israel’s ban on international media entering Gaza, saying that "it’s become a pattern to silence voices who speak out against atrocities."

"More than 220 Palestinian journalists have been killed. UN officials & humanitarian workers have been banned from going back to Gaza," he wrote in a post on X.

"It’s our duty to speak out on the atrocities & any breaches of International humanitarian law," he said.

Excellent piece by @_jwhittall
👇

It’s become a pattern to silence voices who speak out against atrocities in #Gaza.

The Israeli Government continues to ban international media from getting in: it’s been over 660 days.

More than 220 Palestinian journalists have been killed.… https://t.co/gmNuYovFiO

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) August 3, 2025

Eleven former senior Israeli military and security officials, including former chiefs of staff, have called for an immediate end to Israel's war on Gaza, warning that Israel is facing “the dawn of defeat.”

In a joint video statement, they said Israel had turned legitimate self-defence into a strategic deadlock and was now at risk of losing the gains it had achieved.

They added that the army is “stuck” in Gaza and that there has been no progress in negotiations to secure the release of captives held in the territory.

רמטכ"לים, מפכ"לים, ראשי שב"כ, המוסד ואמ"ן, בקריאה משותפת להפסקת המלחמה: "הפסיקה להיות מלחמה צודקת ומביאה את מדינת ישראל לאובדן זהותה"@yanircozin pic.twitter.com/8XlIVuKvqY

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) August 3, 2025

Israeli police detained four protesters in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening during a demonstration against the military and police over the killing of Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian man shot by a settler in the occupied West Bank last week, Haaretz reported. His body remains withheld by authorities.

Around 200 Israelis, including the Israeli MP Ofer Cassif, blocked Kaplan Road in central Tel Aviv, the report said. Another 200 gathered in central Jerusalem.

The spokesman for the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said in a statement that the group is “ready to act positively and respond to any request" from the Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to captives.

"To accept this, we stipulate that humanitarian corridors must be opened normally and permanently for the passage of food and medicine to all our people in all areas of the Gaza Strip," Abu Obeida, the military spokesman, said.

"The Qassam Brigades do not deliberately starve the prisoners, but they eat what our fighters and all our people eat. They will not receive a special privilege in light of the crime of starvation and siege," he said.

He also said that Israel's air traffic of all kinds must be stopped during the times when packages are received.

Houthis in Yemen have taken responsibility for a drone attack on Israel earlier today in Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Haifa.

In a statement, the Houthis said the drones targeted “Zionist enemy military targets.”The 

The Israeli military said it was shot down by the Israeli military over the Egyptian border.

Ahmad Sa’id Saleh Tazaza’a, a 20-year-old Palestinian held in administrative detention at Israel’s Megiddo prison, has died, the Prisoners’ Media Office said on Sunday.

The organisations said Tazaza’a died under unclear circumstances and described his death as “a full-fledged crime tied to the systematic slow-killing practices pursued by the Israeli prisons administration”.

Wafa news agency reported that Tazaza’a had been detained on 6 May 2025.

Megiddo prison has been among the most notorious Israeli detention facilities, with documented rights violations, particularly amid an ongoing outbreak of scabies.

According to the Prisoners’ Media Office, his death brings to 761 the number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees who have died since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.