Hi from CNN this is Madeline Thompson with the five things you need to know for Thursday

August 1st.

US Marine veteran Paul Wheelen, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerschkovic and 22 other detainees

have been released after a historic prisoner exchange between the West and

Russia. President Joe Biden celebrated the quote feet of diplomacy in an address at the White House.

Earlier today they're flown to Turkey and soon they'll be wheels up on their way home to

see their families. This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here.

According to a senior administration official, Biden was working to

orchestrate the swap just an hour before he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race.

But not everyone gets to go home.

Mark Fogle, an American sentenced to 14 years of hard labor in Russia,

wasn't included in the exchange, according to his family's lawyer.

Three recent killings of top figures in Iran-backed groups have put the Middle East

and world leaders on edge.

A strike in Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday killed a senior Hezbollah commander.

Hamas political leader Isma Al-Haniya was killed yesterday, and Israel has just claimed responsibility for the death

of Mohammed Dayif last month. Dayif was the head of Hamas's military wing and an

architect of the October 7th attacks. Ali Vayas is the director of the international crisis group's Iran project.

He explained to CNN why Israel seems to be stoking the flame of this international tension.

One is that Israel believes that Iran is behind all the attacks that Israel has suffered from October 7th onwards,

whether it's Hamas that has been armed and financed by Iran or Hezbollah or the Houthis and so on.

Second, Prime Minister Netanyahu, we know for a long time has wanted to put Iran and the US on a collision course that has been a long-term

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