Gaza, for 43% of Americans it is genocide. Mortar shells near the Church of the Holy Family

The general's criticism is echoed by opposition leader Yair Lapid, who told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during this morning's security briefing that occupying Gaza would be "a very bad idea". This was reported by Lapid himself, who said that 'you do not send the State of Israel to war if the majority of the population is not with you, and the people of Israel are not interested in this war'. The Times of Israel reported this. For Lapid, the price of such a move would be 'too heavy' for Israel to bear, both financially and in terms of the number of casualties it would likely cause. Instead of engaging in an 'unnecessary occupation' of the Gaza Strip, Lapid says Israel should allow Arab countries to govern the enclave, leaving Israel time to eliminate Hamas.

The BBC claims to have authenticated a video showing an explosion near a clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) in northern Gaza, following an alleged Israeli airstrike overnight. In the video, a loud explosion is heard and a fireball illuminates the area behind a building with a communications antenna on the roof. "We compared the distinctive building in the footage, with its slightly curved façade, with images available online of the Sheikh Radwan Clinic in the al-Maqousi area, west of Gaza City," the British broadcaster explains. "Photos uploaded online show the building before it suffered damage and the name Sheikh Redwan Health Center is visible on the wall in English and Arabic, along with the United Nations coat of arms." The Reuters news agency went to the site and took photographs of the aftermath of the attack.

"Let us pray for peace". This was written by the parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, already bombed by the IDF, Father Gabriel Romanlli, to accompany a video he published today on his social profiles in which loud mortar shots are heard in rapid sequence around the church. "Shots in the El Zeytoun neighbourhood, outside the parish territory", Father Gabriel writes again after the same parish priest published several video testimonies in recent days of the mass taking place inside the small church while outside the din of the military operations resounded.

Twenty people died and dozens were injured overnight when a truck carrying goods to Gaza overturned in Deir al-Balah, in the central part of the enclave. This was reported by the Gaza media, picked up by the Times of Israel. It is not yet clear whether the truck was destined for traders or a humanitarian organisation. According to the Qatari daily Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the truck overturned after a crowd gathered around the vehicle, forcing it to veer onto an unsafe road, causing the accident.

Donald Trump called the video of an Israeli hostage released by Hamas "horrible" but evaded a question about the possibility of an Israeli occupation in Gaza. "We're there to feed people," the US president said, speaking of a strengthened US commitment on the humanitarian front. "For the rest I can't say, it's up to Israel," he replied.

Suleiman Al-Obaid, former player of the Palestinian national football team, was killed in an Israeli attack on civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in southern Gaza. This was declared by the Palestine football association (Pfa) and reported on its website Al Jazeera. Also known as the 'Pelé of Palestinian football', al-Obaid had started his career with his home team, the Khadamat Al-Shati Club. He had later joined the Al-Amari Youth Centre Club in the occupied West Bank, then the Gaza Sports Club, before joining the national team, Pfa said. For the association, he was 'one of the brightest stars of Palestinian football'. For the same association, he was the 662nd member of the sports community killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war.

More than four in ten Americans believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians. This was revealed in an Economist/YouGov poll conducted from 1 to 4 August, which highlights a clear division between parties and generations, with Democrats and younger Americans much more likely than Republicans and older people to say that genocide is taking place. It has been almost two years since the start of the Israeli war in Gaza, which, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, has claimed the lives of more than 55,000 Palestinians. According to the United Nations, all 2.1 million inhabitants of the enclave are now at risk of famine and starvation. As the war continues and the civilian death toll rises, numerous human rights organisations and a handful of US lawmakers have called the events in Gaza a genocide, a claim that Israeli officials have strongly rejected. In the poll, conducted among a sample of 1,702 US adults, 43% of respondents said they believed Israel was 'committing genocide against Palestinian civilians'. In contrast, 28% said they disagreed and 29% said they were not sure. The interview revealed a deep divide between the political left and the political right. About two-thirds of Democrats, 65%, say Israel is committing genocide, while only 8% disagree. In contrast, only 19% of Republicans believe genocide is taking place, while nearly half, 49%, reject this idea. Independents fall somewhere in between, with 48% agreeing that genocide is taking place and 25% saying the opposite.

US President Donald Trump has declared that he will not interfere with Israeli plans to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. "It will largely depend on Israel," he said about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal (which must receive final government approval by the end of the week) to take control of the entire enclave, even though this would endanger the lives of hostages remaining in areas not yet taken over by the army. The US president stated that his main goal is to feed the inhabitants of Gaza 'who are obviously not doing very well with food'. Trump added that 'Israel will help us in terms of distribution and also money, as will the Arab states'.

Lebanese media report a wave of Israeli air strikes in the south of the country. The Times of Israel writes this. There is no immediate comment from the IDF, the Israeli armed forces.