Drop Site Daily: August 20, 2025
58 Palestinians have been killed, with three dead of starvation, over the past 24 hours. Israel mobilizes one of its largest batch of reservists as the assault on Gaza City intensifies. A “Population Relocation Unit” plans to oversee the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas has accepted the Qatari and Egyptian truce proposal; Israel continues to stall. The U.S. escalates its militarized response to “drug cartels” in Mexico and Venezuela. The Diptheria crisis in Somalia worsens amid U.S. foreign aid cuts.
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The Genocide in Gaza
- The Ministry of Health recorded 58 people killed over the past 24 hours, including 22 while seeking aid. Three more people died due to starvation. In total, Israel has killed at least 62,122 Palestinians and injured 156,758 since October 7, 2023, according to the Ministry of Health.
- The Israeli military announced it has called up 60,000 reservists and extended the service of an additional 20,000 military members. One of the largest mobilizations in recent months comes as Israel plans to escalate its military assault on Gaza, take control of Gaza City, and forcibly displace up to a million Palestinians to the south. Over the past week, the Israeli military has escalated its attack on the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City—capturing a large area, destroying buildings, and displacing many of its residents—and is now targeting the Sabra neighborhood while also pummeling Jabaliya.
- Satellite images show Gaza City tent camps have emptied as Palestinians flee advancing Israeli forces, with at least 132 buildings destroyed over several days this month and nearly 60 military vehicles pushing in. The assault comes as Hamas accepts a new ceasefire proposal mediated by Qatar and Egypt, and Israel considers whether to agree to a pause or proceed with a full-scale invasion that the UN warns would have “catastrophic consequences.”
- Israel Hayom, a daily newspaper in Israel, reveals the existence of the IDF’s “Population Relocation Unit,” which is preparing to forcibly displace nearly 1 million Palestinians from Gaza City south of the Netzarim Corridor. The Southern Command’s Population Relocation Unit is tasked with mapping civilians, issuing evacuation notices, and shelling with artillery which the report calls the “clearest message” to leave. COGAT has begun preparing infrastructure to absorb the displaced: tents and other shelter equipment entered Gaza this week for the first time since March 2, and plans were approved in late July to build a UAE-funded water pipeline from Egypt to the al-Mawasi future concentration camp. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s government voted today to approve a $9 billion increase to the 2025 budget, with $473 million going toward humanitarian aid for Gaza.
- An Israeli strike on a tent in Shati Camp, Gaza City, killed 5 people: three children (ages 9, 7, and 4) and their parents.
- Director General of Gaza’s Health Ministry: “The occupancy rate of hospital beds has reached 300%, an unprecedented figure that reflects the scale of the health and humanitarian catastrophe we are experiencing today.”
- CNN reports that, since August 2, Israel has repeatedly blocked the same WHO truck carrying ICU beds for Gaza, turning it back four times after forcing the driver through 24-hour reviews before rejection.
- Via @WearThePeaceCo: “Today, over 1,000 orphans at the Al-Wafa Orphan Village in Gaza graduated school, filled with emotion as no parents could attend because Israel has killed them.”
- Mohammad Sha’lan, who played basketball for the Palestine national team, was murdered by an Israeli soldier as he sought food for his children at an “aid distribution point” south of Khan Younis.
Diplomatic Negotiations
- Hamas’s negotiating team—including Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, and Husam Badran—has left Cairo, while Ghazi Hamad remains to coordinate humanitarian aid with Egypt. Mediators report Hamas’s response was “positive and almost identical” to what Israel previously accepted, and once Israel replies, a new round of talks is expected in Doha with Egypt, Qatar, the U.S., and EU coordinating Rafah border arrangements.
- Israeli media report that Netanyahu has kept his response to Hamas’s accepted ceasefire proposal deliberately ambiguous, holding only limited consultations and insisting on a “comprehensive deal” rather than a partial one. The Times of Israel reported that “Netanyahu seemingly dismissed the Hamas response and signaled that Israel was moving forward with its plan to take over” Gaza City. Other reports cite security sources saying Hamas’s proposal “almost corresponds to what Israel demanded,” and as chances of a deal under the Witkoff framework have increased, Israel has yet to formally reply. Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. have urged a prompt response as Israeli forces plan for a Gaza City offensive.
- Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said the group has accepted mediators’ latest proposal and is awaiting Israel’s response, accusing Netanyahu of seeking to prolong “war, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.” He urged the U.S. and international community to intervene, warning that ignoring international law and Palestinian rights will endanger both regional and global stability.
West Bank
- Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released footage from inside an Israeli prison showing images of the destruction of Gaza to taunt Palestinian prisoners. The video shows Ben-Gvir inside the prison flanked by officials and pointing to a large photograph of rubble and destroyed buildings in Gaza posted on the wall. “So they know that the Israeli people are not to be underestimated,” Ben-Gvir says in the video. “This is what they see in the morning, if they look.”
- Via Jasper Nathaniel: 16-year-old Palestinian American Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, detained in Israel since February, has been granted a court date tomorrow after more than six months in pretrial detention, during which he has lost over 12 kg (26 pounds) and contracted scabies in Megiddo prison, while his family denies the allegations and warns his health is rapidly deteriorating.
- In Hebron, an Israeli military jeep rammed a Palestinian public transport van used by families and children, as journalist @tamerqdh documented in a shared video, highlighting the daily dangers under occupation.
U.S. News
- Microsoft employees, ex-employees, and community members have established a protest encampment on the company’s East Campus Plaza, renaming it the Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza. Organized by the “No Azure for Apartheid” group, the action is part of the broader “No Tech for Apartheid” campaign, which accuses Microsoft of enabling a “Microsoft-powered genocide.” The encampment was later forced to disperse under threat of police action, but its organizers have promised that this “will not be the end” of actions against Microsoft for its complicity in the Gaza genocide.
- Israel gave its final approval on Wednesday for the controversial E1 settlement expansion east of Jerusalem. The U.S. has signaled approval for the project, with Ambassador Mike Huckabee telling Israel’s Army Radio that Washington does not oppose the plan. The E1 project would link Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem, cutting the West Bank in two, isolating Palestinian communities, and undermining prospects for a future Palestinian state, which the UN has long warned against.
- In an interview with Drop Site, Rep. Ro Khanna said he has secured 20 signatures from fellow House members on a letter to President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging U.S. recognition of Palestinian statehood.
- Los Angeles prosecutors have charged at least 71 people over mass protests against federal immigration raids, with many facing felonies, steep bail, and sweeping sentence enhancements, including one woman who was found hanged in her cell after being held on $1.3 million bail. Defense attorneys argue the prosecutions demonstrate a punitive system where inflated charges and pretrial detention punish protesters before trial, with some even facing animal cruelty counts tied to clashes with horse-mounted deputies.
- The U.S. is deploying three Aegis guided-missile destroyers—the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham, and USS Sampson—off the coast of Venezuela as part of Trump’s push to “combat Latin American drug cartels,” with Defense Department officials saying that the deployment will support counter-narcotics operations over several months. The move comes amid Trump’s broader campaign in Latin America, including labeling several cartel groups as foreign terrorist organizations, doubling the reward for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, and pressuring Mexico for greater security cooperation. Venezuela has denounced the threats and strengthened its militia and anti-drone measures, and Maduro announced that his government will activate a special plan to mobilize over 4.5 million militia members across the country to “defend national sovereignty.”
- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied that her government had agreed with the U.S. DEA on “Project Portero,” a cross-border anti-cartel initiative announced Monday, saying the only interaction was a workshop in Texas for four Mexican police officers. She stressed that Mexico only signs agreements with the U.S. government, not individual agencies, and asked the DEA to follow proper protocols for public statements.
- On Breaking Points, Professor Jeffrey Sachs called Senator Lindsey Graham “the worst senator in the U.S. Senate,” while criticizing Graham and Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro’s push for an additional 25% “penalty tariff” on India. Sachs described the policy as “the stupidest tactical mistake in U.S. foreign policy in a long time,” saying it “unified the BRICS countries overnight like never before.”
- Oklahoma education superintendent Ryan Walters is rolling out a new 50-question “America First” certification exam—developed with PragerU—for teachers moving to the state from California and New York. Applicants must score 100% on questions that will cover conservative-aligned topics such as religion and “biological differences between males and females.” Walters has suggested the requirement could later be extended to teachers from other liberal states. Critics, including teachers’ unions, call it a political stunt that will deter educators from coming to Oklahoma, while it is already grappling with a teacher shortage despite offering bonuses of up to $50,000. The move follows other Walters initiatives, such as ordering Bibles in every classroom and ensuring that the history of the 2020 election is taught by affirming Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud.
International News
- Jack Poulson and Harrison Berger report on a major leak from Israel’s Ministry of Justice revealing over 2,100 international legal requests, including multiple U.S. extradition cases for child sex abuse suspects that were delayed or ignored. The leak also details U.S. requests involving figures like Roman Polanski, NSO Group, and Black Cube. The leaks came as Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, head of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, was arrested in Las Vegas for allegedly soliciting sex from someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl.
- Diphtheria cases and deaths in Somalia have surged in 2025, with over 1,600 cases and 87 deaths. The epidemic is driven by vaccine shortages, U.S. aid cuts, and closures of hundreds of health clinics, leaving many children unvaccinated. Health officials blame global supply constraints and reduced donor funding, while advocacy groups warn the crisis is compounded by insufficient government health spending and call for urgent international support.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron accusing his push for Palestinian state recognition to be fueling antisemitism. Netanyhau demanded a reversal by September 23, calling the move “appeasement.” French officials forcefully rejected the charge as “abject” and “erroneous,” with officials vowing to respond and noting that France needs “no lessons in the fight against antisemitism,” as Netanyahu reportedly prepares similar warnings to other governments backing recognition at the UN.
- Syria’s foreign minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani met an Israeli delegation in Paris for U.S.-mediated talks focused on de-escalation in southern Syria and underlining the demand that Israel halt interference in its territory. The discussions, which Israel has not confirmed, reportedly also covered the 1974 Golan Heights disengagement deal, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes across Syria that have killed both soldiers and civilians.
More from Drop Site
- Join the Arab Center of Washington DC’s panel “What Comes Next in Gaza?’ featuring Yara Asi, Diana Buttu, Mouin Rabbani, and Jeremy Scahill, moderated by Yousef Munayyer. More information here.
