Drop Site Daily: October 7, 2025
This is Drop Site Daily, our free daily news recap. We send it Monday through Friday.
After two years of Israel’s relentless bombardment, Gaza’s Government Media Office reports an average of 92 Palestinians have been killed each day. Israel bombs multiple Gaza City neighborhoods, including a U.S.-run aid distribution site south of Khan Younis. President Donald Trump says ceasefire talks are going “really well”; Hamas affirms its willingness to find a deal and warns of potential “sabotage” by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells American conservative commentator Ben Shapiro that Iran could hit “New York, Washington, Boston, Miami and Mar-a-Lago” if it expands the range of its existing missile arsenal, a claim experts say is false. Trump calls off diplomatic outreach to Venezuela, opening the door for all-out war. The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago filed a joint lawsuit to prevent the deployment of the National Guard into the city. Government shutdown drags into its seventh day. Nile flooding exacerbates conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latter’s recently constructed dam.
Drop Site confirmed this morning that our journalist Alex Colston has been released from Israeli detention. Alex has been imprisoned since Thursday as one of 462 participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which Alex was covering for Drop Site. He was among 131 deported to Jordan today; the group included all the remaining U.S. participants. At least four participants from Morocco, Norway, and Spain are still in Israeli custody.
The Genocide in Gaza
- Over the past two years, since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, Gaza has suffered daily attacks by Israel, according to the Government Media Office, resulting in an average of 92 Palestinians killed every single day, including 27 children and 14 women. An average of 53 families have been attacked each day, four completely wiped out, and eight reduced to a single survivor.
- The Gaza Ministry of Health calls the past two years in Gaza a “health genocide” due to the attacks on health services and infrastructure across Gaza. Since October 7, 2023, 1,701 medical personnel have been killed, and 362 have been arrested, the ministry reports. Twenty-five of 38 hospitals are “out of service,” with the remaining 13 hospitals are partially operating. The ministry also reported that “55% of medicines are currently out of stock, 66% of medical supplies are out of stock, and 68% of laboratory supplies are out of stock” and that 18,000 patients prevented from traveling abroad for treatment, including 5,580 children.
- At least ten Palestinians were killed Monday as Israel carried out air and artillery strikes across Gaza, including on a U.S.-run aid distribution site south of Khan Younis. Israeli forces bombed multiple Gaza City neighborhoods and demolished residential buildings despite President Trump’s calls for a ceasefire. Local authorities said more than 140 strikes in three days have killed over 100 people, most of them in Gaza City.
- Gaza’s Government Media Office said Monday that Israel conducted 143 air raids over the past three days, killing 106 people—65 of them in Gaza City. Officials said the attacks continued despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire call and Hamas’s stated readiness to negotiate, accusing Israel of defying international appeals and persisting in its campaign of large-scale destruction.
- Palestinian-American legal scholar Noura Erakat on Monday became only the second Palestinian woman to brief the United Nations Security Council since October 7, 2023—and the first to present a legal argument that Israel’s war on Gaza constitutes genocide. In her 10-minute address, Erakat detailed a four-part framework showing how Israel’s campaign targets Palestinian reproductive capacity, citing the destruction of homes and clinics, sexual violence in captivity, soaring miscarriage rates, and the deaths of newborns under siege conditions. She urged the Council to ensure any ceasefire includes accountability, protection of International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice investigations, and a central role for Palestinian women in Gaza’s reconstruction.
- Al Jazeera reporter Ibrahim al-Khalili reflects on two years of covering the war. His older brother has been missing since March 18, 2024, when Israel stormed al-Shifa hospital:
Ceasefire Negotiations
- On Tuesday, Hamas affirmed it is “working to overcome all obstacles in order to reach an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people in Gaza” including a ceasefire, complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, unrestricted humanitarian aid, captive exchange, return of displaced people, and “the immediate start of comprehensive reconstruction, supervised by a Palestinian national technocratic body.” “We warn against the attempts by criminal Netanyahu to obstruct and sabotage the current round of negotiations, just as he deliberately sabotaged all previous rounds,” the Hamas official added.
- Donald Trump said Monday that ceasefire talks ongoing in Egypt are “going really well,” claiming Hamas has agreed to key terms. Axios reported that Trump recently told Netanyahu to “take the win” over the deal, but Trump denied the exchange, insisting the Israeli leader has been “very positive” and that “everyone’s been great.”
- Houthi political bureau member Muhammad al-Bukhaiti told ceasefire mediators not to focus on disarming Hamas, saying Yemen’s fighters and resources are tied to Hamas and that “Hamas’s war is our war.” He framed a Levant–Yemen alliance as a religious and moral duty, contrasted it with a hostile “Najd” camp, and argued that liberating Palestine requires first purging the Arabian Peninsula of its “followers.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Monday, discussing Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire proposal. Putin reaffirmed Russia’s support for a comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue, and both leaders expressed interest in negotiated solutions on Iran’s nuclear program and stabilizing Syria.
- Israel has allocated over $145 million in its 2025 budget to weaponize social media and AI, including ChatGPT, in its largest U.S. propaganda effort since the start of its Gaza campaign, according to new FARA filings. The initiative, run through U.S. firm Clock Tower led by Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale, targets 50 million monthly impressions, focusing 80% on Gen Z via TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. A parallel program, Project Esther, pays U.S. influencers up to $900,000 to post frequently, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling social media Israel’s “eighth front” and its “most important weapon today.”
- Netanyahu told Ben Shapiro that Iran could hit “New York City, Washington, Boston, Miami, and Mar-a-Lago” if it added “another 3,000 km” to its missiles — a claim experts call baseless. Iran’s longest proven missile range is roughly 2,000–2,500 km, and analysts say its program remains constrained by a self-imposed 2,000 km limit, far short of intercontinental range.
U.S. News
- Trump called off diplomatic outreach to Venezuela, ending negotiations led by special envoy Richard Grenell and opening the door for further military action against drug traffickers and Nicolás Maduro’s government. The Trump administration has already carried out a number of extrajudicial strikes on Venezuelan vessels and officials, including Marco Rubio, are pushing plans to remove Maduro, whom the U.S. considers “illegitimate” and a fugitive from drug trafficking charges.
- Illinois and Chicago filed a joint lawsuit Monday to block President Trump from deploying National Guard troops in the state, calling the plan “Trump’s invasion,” after he ordered 300 Illinois Guard members into federal service and summoned 400 more from Texas for his deportation campaign. The suit names Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, seeking a restraining order to halt the mobilization. Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order designating city-owned lots as “ICE-free zones” to prevent federal agents from using them as staging or processing sites, while Broadview, home to an ICE processing facility, now restricts protests outside the facility to 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Drop Site contributor Mohammad Syedt reported from the scene; watch his coverage here.
- The Senate voted Monday for the fifth time against advancing stopgap funding to end the government shutdown, with only three Democrats breaking ranks to support the GOP-led measure. The ongoing lapse has already left federal workers, military personnel, and air traffic controllers worried about missed paychecks, creating delays at major airports and threatening critical programs.
- Paramount Skydance acquired Bari Weiss’s Free Press for roughly $150 million, naming her CBS News editor in chief. She will report directly to David Ellison, son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison.
- In the weeks before his 2024 primary election victory over then-Rep. Cori Bush in St. Louis, Wesley Bell’s campaign reported an expense in its federal elections filings. According to the documents, the campaign spent $35,086.86 on what it called “Campaign Auto,” Ryan Grim reports. That auto, according to an associate of Bell’s, and subsequently confirmed to Drop Site by the Bell campaign, was an all-black Dodge Durango, and represents a highly unusual purchase for a campaign, particularly in its waning weeks. Read the full story here.
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is in New Hampshire, testing the waters for a possible presidential bid. Beshear, a Democrat who has said the United States should not “publicly” criticize Israel and has opposed halting U.S. weapons shipments despite the ongoing war in Gaza, is facing growing criticism from activists. The Institute for Middle East Understanding has launched TV ads in New Hampshire condemning him for shielding Israel from accountability.
- BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada’s CPP are attempting to take Minnesota Power private in a $6.2 billion deal, despite opposition from lawmakers, consumer groups, and a damning report warning the acquisition could harm public interest. The Minnesota Department of Commerce’s last-minute settlement supporting the sale has raised questions about Gov. Tim Walz’s role and private equity influence in the state’s utility sector. Read the full report from James Baratta at The American Prospect.
- Trump signed an executive order approving a 211-mile industrial road through northern Alaska to reach a proposed copper and zinc mine, with the federal government taking a 10 percent stake in the mining company Trilogy Metals. The road would cut through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and cross multiple rivers and streams, raising environmental and tribal opposition. The project’s start may be delayed as legal experts note that prior environmental reviews under the Biden administration must first be repealed and redone.
- House Democrats are demanding answers after ICE forcibly deported six-year-old Dayra and her mother from Queens, leaving her siblings behind, as part of a wider pattern in which nearly 2,000 children were detained between January and July. Lawmakers want details on conditions in detention, curriculum, and treatment, arguing the Trump administration is violating children’s rights while leaving schools and families to deal with the consequences. From our friends at Migrant Insider.
International News
- From Drop Site: Al-Shabaab Fighters Break Out of Underground Prison in Somalia. In one of their most serious assaults in years, Al-Shabaab militants stormed a fortified prison and intelligence headquarters in Mogadishu, freeing detainees in a catastrophic failure of Somalia’s U.S.-backed security apparatus. Mohamed Gabobe reports from Mogadishu on how the raid on Godka Jilow—a site once run by the CIA—has shaken the Somali government’s claims of restored stability. Read the full investigation on Drop Site.
- UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Houthi authorities in Yemen have detained nine additional UN employees, bringing the total to 53 since 2021. The UN condemned the detentions as arbitrary and unlawful, warning they undermine humanitarian operations and put staff at risk. The Houthis have frequently been accused of detaining suspects on charges of espionage without evidence.
- The International Criminal Court convicted former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, known as Ali Kushayb, on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, two decades ago. The ruling is the court’s first conviction related to the Darfur conflict, in which government-backed militias killed some 300,000 people and displaced millions. Abd-al-Rahman was found to have personally ordered and participated in mass executions and assaults as part of Sudan’s campaign to crush a local rebellion.
- Seasonal Nile floods inundated parts of northern Egypt over the weekend, forcing residents in Menoufia Governorate to travel by boat and sparking renewed accusations between Cairo and Addis Ababa over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam. Egypt’s Water Ministry blamed “reckless unilateral” dam operations for a surge of late-season flooding, while Ethiopia dismissed the charge as “malicious,” saying the dam had actually mitigated damage. Floods have also displaced hundreds of families in neighboring Sudan, where the 18-month war has hampered relief efforts.
- Ukrainian commanders say Russian sabotage groups are operating inside Pokrovsk as fighting intensifies for control of the eastern Ukrainian city. Dmytro Lavro of Ukraine’s 25th Airborne Brigade said the battle remains “evenly matched” as Russian forces attempt to encircle the area. Meanwhile, Kyiv confirmed that it carried out a drone strike on Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery—one of Russia’s largest refineries—forcing the shutdown of a major crude unit days after another hit on the Feodosia terminal in occupied Crimea.
- The Syrian army and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to a “comprehensive ceasefire” in two Aleppo districts after days of escalating tensions and clashes, according to state media. Tensions had increased following Syrian army redeployments along frontlines with the SDF in the northeast of Syria, which Damascus said were defensive moves to counter SDF attempts to seize territory. The violence threatened a landmark March agreement between Syria’s new Islamist-led government and the Kurdish-led SDF to integrate the group into state institutions.
- A Channel 4 investigation found that UK arms exports to Israel hit record highs this year, with June 2025 the largest monthly total since 2022 and September close behind. Though officials insist Britain does not send bombs or ammunition for use in Gaza, export licenses cover targeting systems, radar, and software—components campaigners say make the UK complicit in Israel’s genocide despite claims of restraint.
- At least four participants in the Global Sumud Flotilla remain in Israeli custody on Tuesday after 131 were released to Jordan, including Drop Site’s Alex Colston. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and roughly 160 other Global Sumud Flotilla participants arrived in Greece on Monday to cheers after their release from Israeli detention. Thunberg said the ordeal highlighted Israel’s ongoing campaign of “genocide and mass destruction,” warning that it aimed to erase an entire population and nation.
- After months of protests and mounting sponsor pressure, the “Israel–Premier Tech” cycling team announced Monday it will drop its Israeli branding and fully rebrand. The decision follows repeated disruptions by pro-Palestine demonstrators across Europe—including mass protests at Spain’s Vuelta a España and bans from several Italian races. Team owner Sylvan Adams, an Israeli-Canadian billionaire long known for using sports to promote Israel’s image abroad, is stepping back from daily operations as the team prepares to unveil a new name while keeping its UCI ProTeam license.
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