- 31 August 2024 – Israel–Hamas war
- Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
- The Israeli military recovers the bodies of six hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, from an underground tunnel near Rafah, Gaza. (NBC News)
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
- Israeli strikes kill at least 48 people across the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
- 31 August 2024 – 2024 Pacific typhoon season
- The death toll from the effects of Typhoon Shanshan in Japan increases to six, with over 100 people injured. (Reuters)
- 31 August 2024 – 2024 Yemen floods
- The death toll from flooding in Al Mahwit Governorate, Yemen, increases to at least 97 people. (DW)