Drop Site Daily: October 16, 2025
Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza continue despite ceasefire, with at least 23 confirmed killed since Saturday. Israel hands over 30 more bodies of dead Palestinians, and the Gaza health ministry publishes photos showing signs of abuse. Hamas hands over two more bodies of Israeli captives, saying it could not access the last remains without additional machinery. White House advisers indicate that they do not think Hamas failed to uphold the ceasefire agreement regarding hostage return, noting that it is ill-equipped to handle the sophisticated task of removing bodies from mounds of rubble. Palestinian prisoners detail horrific sexual abuses at the hands of their Israeli captors. The U.S. doubles the financial commitment President Donald Trump made to Argentina in support of right-wing President Javier Milei, increasing aid from $20 billion to $40 billion. The Trump administration plans to privilege white Europeans—those who demonstrate “opposition to migration” in their own countries—in its reformation of the U.S.’s refugee acceptance program. The White House gives the CIA a green light to conduct covert lethal operations in Venezuela, the New York Times reports. Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to a ceasefire. Ukrainian officials meet with American weapons manufacturers ahead of a Trump-Zelenskyy summit. Scam compounds bloom in Myanmar with the help of Elon Musk’s Starlink.
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The Genocide in Gaza
- At least three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks today despite the ceasefire, according to Al Jazeera.
- The bodies of 29 Palestinians—including 22 recovered from under the rubble and three who died of previous wounds and four killed in new Israeli attacks over the past day—arrived at hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the ministry of health. At least 10 Palestinians were wounded. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 67,967 killed, with 170,179 injured.
- The health ministry reported that since Saturday—the first full day of the ceasefire being in effect—Israel has killed 23 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 122. At least 381 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.
- The health ministry also announced it received the bodies of 30 dead Palestinians handed over by Israel via the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies received to 120. Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is to hand over 15 bodies of Palestinians for each deceased Israeli captive.
- Many of the bodies of dead Palestinians handed over by Israel show signs of abuse, beatings, handcuffing, blindfolding, and field executions. The health ministry on Thursday published a link for Palestinians in Gaza to access and called on anyone who could identify a body through their belongings or any identifying marks to visit the Martyrs’ Management Committee at the field hospital in Nasser Medical Complex. Many of the bodies in the photos are charred and mangled and some have their hands bound.
- Earlier today, Hamas handed over two more bodies of Israeli captives via the Red Cross, bringing the number of bodies handed over to Israel to eight. Hamas released a statement saying it had now handed over all the bodies it could access. “As for the remaining corpses, it requires extensive efforts and special equipment for their retrieval and extraction. We are exerting great effort in order to close this file,” Hamas said.
- The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains closed to the delivery of humanitarian aid. An official with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the branch of the Israeli military that oversees the West Bank and Gaza, told Reuters that with Rafah closed, only 300 aid trucks had entered Gaza—not the full 600 trucks agreed to in the ceasefire deal. The official added that humanitarian aid will not pass through Rafah for the time being, but will continue to enter through Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and other crossings.
- The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said it has enough food outside the enclave to supply people for three months, and teams are ready to deliver it. “But despite the ceasefire, the Israeli authorities’ block on UNRWA bringing any supplies into Gaza still continues after over 7 months,” UNRWA wrote on X.
Ceasefire Updates
- An Israeli court has rubber-stamped the extension of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s detention without charge or trial for another six months, according to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights. There were widespread calls for Abu Safiya to be among the hundreds of Palestinian captives freed on Monday as part of the ceasefire deal. “This decision strips away any pretense: Dr. Abu Safiya is a hostage, a bargaining chip in ongoing negotiations,” Al Mezan said in a statement. Abu Safiya was the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia when Israeli troops raided the hospital in December 2024. He has been imprisoned along with dozens of other doctors and medical staff for nearly 10 months.
- In a CNN interview on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he personally stopped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from resuming large-scale attacks in Gaza, claiming Israeli forces could “go back in as soon as I say the word” if Hamas fails to comply with the ceasefire. Trump defended reports of Hamas executing alleged collaborators, describing them as “violent gangs,” and said his plan envisions a “demilitarized Gaza” under independent monitoring and without Hamas in governance. He acknowledged a dispute with Netanyahu—“I had it out with Bibi”—over Israel’s push to restart the war, and said humanitarian aid restrictions imposed by Israel would be “resolved quickly.” Trump added that 59 countries now back his “Trump Peace Agreement” and asserted that “Iran isn’t a problem anymore.”
- A senior adviser to Donald Trump said the United States is recruiting Palestinians to form a transitional technocratic government to administer post-war Gaza, prioritizing demilitarization, humanitarian relief, and recovery of Israeli captives’ remains. The adviser said Palestinians, including members of the diaspora, have expressed interest, claiming Hamas is “weaker than ever,” while also condemning both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority as corrupt. The envisioned administration, distinct from both factions, would operate under a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace”; Egyptian officials said earlier this week that 15 Palestinian technocrats have already been approved to manage Gaza in coordination with Israel.
- Two advisers to President Donald Trump told reporters they do not believe Hamas has violated the ceasefire agreement regarding the recovery of Israeli hostages’ bodies, noting that the group lacks the heavy equipment needed to locate remains in Gaza. “It’s almost impossible for Hamas to reach all the dead hostages,” one adviser said. Israeli officials, however, informed Washington on Wednesday that Hamas “isn’t doing enough” to retrieve the bodies, warning that the Gaza deal cannot proceed to its next phase until progress is made.
- CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper publicly urged Hamas to “disarm without delay” and comply with President Trump’s 20-point plan, calling it a “historic opportunity for peace.” He also condemned attacks on civilians, echoing Israeli claims, even as Trump defended recent Hamas operations as targeting “dangerous gangs” causing chaos.
- A video of Gaza journalist Shadi Abu Sido reuniting with his wife, journalist Hanaa Bahloul, and their children after nearly two years in Israeli detention went viral this week. In an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher, Abu Sido—arrested while reporting at Al-Shifa Hospital—described routine abuse in Ofer and Naqab prisons, where guards woke prisoners at dawn, forced them to kneel, and denied them sunlight or any sense of time. He said he lost 30 kilos and partial sight and hearing after being beaten by a guard who “smashed my eye like my camera lens.” Bahloul, who spent months seeking news of him while their Gaza home was damaged by bombing, said with a weary smile: “I’ll give him a week to rest — then I’ll hold him accountable for all the days I raised the kids alone.”
- A recently released Palestinian hostage opened up about the horrific abuse he and others encountered in Israeli occupation prisons, recounting that “They had a dog rape the hostages and they raped me with a stick”
- Alaa al-Din al-Aklouk, vice president of the Supreme Council of the Reform and Clans Forum in Gaza, told Ultra Palestine that recent security operations in Gaza “aim to preserve order and deter those who break the law or collaborate with the occupation.” He said those targeted “were well known for past crimes” and accused some of “acting as tools for Israel to destabilize the home front.” Al-Aklouk added that Gaza’s families had “withdrawn tribal protection from anyone who broke national ranks,” saying such actions reflect “a national responsibility to protect society from chaos and lawlessness.”
- The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office reported that senior Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti lost consciousness and sustained four broken ribs after being beaten by Israeli guards during his mid-September transfer from Rimon to Megiddo Prison. The office accused a special Israeli suppression unit of carrying out the assault. Barghouti, imprisoned since 2002 and serving multiple life sentences, was excluded from the October 2025 Gaza prisoner exchange despite repeated calls for his release.
- Palestinian novelist Bassem Khandaqji, imprisoned for 21 years in Israeli facilities, was released and deported to Egypt under the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. During his incarceration, he transformed his cell into a “cultural operations room,” producing novels and poetry that redefined Palestinian prison literature, including the 2022 Arabic Booker Prize-winning A Mask Dyed the Color of the Sky. Khandaqji emphasized that his work transcends autobiographical accounts of captivity, aiming to preserve Palestinian narratives and culture beyond politics.
- Turkey has sent 81 search-and-rescue technicians to Gaza, marking the country’s first official deployment there in over a century. Authorized by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and coordinated through Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, the team traveled via Egypt to assist in locating bodies of Israeli captives, aid recovery in rubble, and support humanitarian relief following the ceasefire and Egypt peace summit, according to Israel Hayom and i24NEWS.
U.S. News
- CNN reports that a U.S. military strike on September 19 targeted a boat carrying Colombian nationals in the Caribbean, one of at least five lethal operations in President Donald Trump’s expanding regional campaign. The Pentagon has not confirmed the victims’ identities, while a classified legal opinion reportedly allows Trump to classify drug traffickers as enemy combatants without judicial review. Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the killings as “murder of Colombian citizens,” while the White House, without offering evidence, maintained that all those targeted were “designated narcoterrorists.”
- Donald Trump confirmed that he has authorized the CIA to conduct lethal covert operations in Venezuela under a classified presidential order aimed at removing President Nicolás Maduro from power. The New York Times and other outlets reported that the directive grants the agency wide latitude for clandestine actions across Venezuela and the Caribbean, marking a major escalation in Washington’s regime-change efforts. Trump said Wednesday that the authorization was intended to combat narcotics trafficking and illegal migration, alleging—without evidence—that Maduro’s government has released prisoners into the United States and runs drug networks tied to the “Cartel of the Suns.” The move accompanies a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, with roughly 10,000 troops and warships stationed near Puerto Rico and several recent naval strikes off Venezuela’s coast reportedly killing 27 people. Lawmakers from both parties have questioned the operation’s legality, though a War Powers Resolution introduced by Senator Rand Paul failed to pass.
- The Trump administration is effectively doubling U.S. financial support for Argentina, increasing aid from $20 billion to $40 billion through an additional $20 billion arranged via private banks and sovereign wealth funds, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on October 15, 2025. The move aims to stabilize Argentina’s collapsing currency and bolster President Javier Milei ahead of midterm elections. Democrats, including Senators Ruben Gallego and Jack Reed, criticized the plan as prioritizing foreign aid over domestic issues, while supporters framed it as a strategy to counter Chinese influence in Latin America and promote free-market reforms. The expansion builds on a prior $20 billion U.S. currency-swap line discussed by Trump yesterday.
- President Trump signed a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority to repurpose unspent federal funds to pay military personnel during the ongoing government shutdown, bypassing Congress’s explicit approval. The memo directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in coordination with the White House budget office, to use any remaining FY2026 appropriations for military payments—a move Democrats have criticized as likely illegal. Trump also announced plans to fund FBI salaries during the shutdown, with Director Kash Patel praising the action, framing it as ensuring that “the people that we want paid, paid,” despite broader disputes over federal spending authority.
- The Trump administration is reportedly planning a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. refugee program that would drastically reduce admissions while favoring English-speaking, white Europeans and South Africans, including Afrikaners, over refugees from other regions. Documents obtained by The New York Times show proposals emphasizing assimilation, cultural “fit,” and security vetting, with some already enacted, such as cutting refugee admissions and prioritizing certain groups. Critics say the plans reflect a racially and culturally selective vision for America, while supporters argue they prioritize U.S. interests amid high immigration levels.
- Six U.S. press freedom organizations—including Defending Rights & Dissent, Freedom of the Press Foundation, and PEN America—urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to denounce Israel’s detention of three American journalists, Alex Colston and Noa Avishag Schnall of Drop Site News and Emily Wilder of Jewish Currents, who were seized from Gaza aid flotillas and held at Ketziot Prison. In a joint letter, the groups criticized the State Department’s silence and condemned Ambassador Mike Huckabee for publicly attacking members of Congress and “demonizing the detained.” They called on Washington to hold Israel accountable and to press for international journalists’ access to Gaza.
- The Supreme Court signaled on Wednesday that it may further limit the use of race in drawing legislative districts, potentially undermining Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which has protected minority voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice for decades. Conservative justices expressed openness to restricting race-based redistricting, while liberal justices warned that weakening Section 2 would “gut” the law and threaten the gains of Black elected officials, particularly in the South. The case, stemming from disputes over Louisiana’s congressional map, could have far-reaching consequences for minority representation nationwide if the court curtails the law’s protections.
- Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans has barred ICE from making civil arrests at, or near, courthouses, citing the need for residents to attend court without fear of detention. The order—covering courthouses, parking lots, sidewalks, and entryways—follows complaints from public defenders, domestic violence advocates, and legal organizations that ICE’s courthouse arrests were deterring people from participating in legal proceedings. The move has drawn praise from local officials, including Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Welch and Governor JB Pritzker, and is part of a broader push nationwide to protect courthouses as safe spaces from federal immigration enforcement.
- A U.S. Border Patrol video posted to Instagram and Facebook featuring antisemitic lyrics from Michael Jackson’s 1995 song went viral on X this week, drawing far-right attention before being removed from platforms, Gizmodo reports. The 13-second clip, which showed Border Patrol agents in the field, was widely criticized for its offensive content, with far-right users celebrating the video as a signal to extremists. The incident underscores a broader pattern of far-right and extremist messaging emerging from DHS and related agencies since President Trump’s second inauguration, raising alarm over the normalization of antisemitism and racist propaganda by a government body with real enforcement power.
- Labor unions criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom after he vetoed SB-34, a bipartisan measure aimed at protecting longshore jobs by limiting the use of public funds for port automation. Newsom argued the bill would restrict ports’ flexibility and modernization, though he expressed support for combining technological upgrades with worker protections. The International Longshoremen’s Association called the veto a “gut punch,” accusing Newsom of siding with foreign carriers over workers, while the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has long opposed automation but negotiated semi-automation contracts to preserve jobs.
- Silicon Valley defense startups are poised to profit massively from the Pentagon’s record-breaking budget, particularly through investments in drones, artificial intelligence, and autonomous weapons, even as many of these technologies lack clear operating doctrines and have previously caused cost overruns. Congress has codified policies treating small drones as expendable ammunition and promoting AI to increase “warfighter lethality,” while deregulation and lobbying by tech firms like Palantir, Anduril, and Amazon-linked contractors have accelerated adoption. Critics say these moves are driven by hype over foreign threats, overstate national security risks, and funnel taxpayer dollars to well-connected companies without sufficient oversight or evidence of effectiveness. Read more here from our friends at The Lever.
International News
- Greta Thunberg spoke to Aftonbladet about her torture and sexual humiliation while in Israeli captivity.
- Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon have wounded several civilians in multiple incidents. Between Kafra and Seddiqin, a drone hit a rapid-response vehicle, injuring occupants. Yesterday, strikes targeted a car on the outskirts of Wadi Jilo near Al-Bazourieh and another parked vehicle between Tebnine and Haris in the Bint Jbeil district, wounding two civilians nearby.
- Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a ceasefire on Wednesday after several days of deadly border clashes left dozens dead on both sides. The truce followed appeals from Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop the fighting, which risked further destabilizing a region already facing renewed activity from the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Each government blamed the other for the violence—Pakistan citing militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan, and the Taliban accusing Pakistan of cross-border bombardments—while key border crossings remained closed amid reports of civilian evacuations and casualties in both countries.
- A Ukrainian government delegation met with U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s planned White House meeting with President Donald Trump, signaling Kyiv’s push for cruise missiles, air defense systems, and joint drone production, senior adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said. While Trump has hinted at sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Washington remains cautious over escalation risks, and NATO ministers met in Brussels to discuss sustaining weapons supplies after a summer decline in European aid. Separately, Ukraine struck a Russian-controlled oil terminal in Crimea, damaging 16 fuel reservoirs, while Russia hit Ukrainian thermal power plants, leaving at least two regions without electricity.
- Ryan Grim reports that Pakistan’s military opened fire on pro-Palestine protesters near Lahore, leaving scores dead and possibly more than 1,000 wounded, in an attack that targeted supporters of the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan movement. The crackdown coincided with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s trip to Egypt for the Gaza ceasefire summit, where he praised Donald Trump as a “candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.” Grim writes that the killings reflect the military’s efforts, backed by Washington, to suppress dissent over normalization with Israel and reassert domestic control.iWitnesses described hundreds of bodies left in the streets after the crackdown. Media coverage of the event within Pakistan remains heavily censored.
- A wave of drone strikes hit Khartoum overnight Wednesday, targeting two army bases in the city’s northwest, according to an army source and eyewitnesses cited by AFP. The military said it intercepted “most of the drones,” blaming the attack on the paramilitary faction Rapid Support Forces (RSF) it has battled since April 2023. The strikes marked the second consecutive day of attacks on the capital. Local witnesses in Omdurman reported loud explosions throughout the night. The RSF continues to launch long-range assaults from western and southern fronts, particularly around El-Fasher in Darfur, where over 400,000 civilians are trapped amid famine and daily bombardment.
- An Agence France-Presse investigation found that online fraud groups in Myanmar have rapidly expanded, despite a February government crackdown, using Elon Musk’s Starlink network to keep their compounds online after Thai authorities cut their internet access. Satellite images show construction surging at sites like KK Park near the Thai border, where dozens of Starlink dishes power large-scale fraud operations run by Chinese crime syndicates with backing from Myanmar militias. U.S. lawmakers have opened an inquiry into Starlink’s role in the online scam industry—fueled by human trafficking and violence—as it continues to defraud victims worldwide of tens of billions of dollars.
- Madagascar’s new military ruler, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, said Wednesday he would soon be sworn in as president after leading a coup that ousted Andry Rajoelina, who fled abroad and has refused to formally resign. The African Union suspended Madagascar with immediate effect, calling for “the rule of law to prevail.” Randrianirina, a former commander in the elite CAPSAT unit that helped bring Rajoelina to power in 2009, said a military-led committee and transitional government will rule for up to two years before new elections.
More From Drop Site
- Despite being hailed internationally as a Gaza ceasefire broker, Egypt continues a sweeping crackdown on citizens expressing solidarity with Palestine under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Since Israel’s war on Gaza began, over 150 people have been detained for protesting, organizing, or even sharing support online, while thousands of political prisoners remain held indefinitely under pretrial detention. Activists warn that the regime uses the Palestinian cause to polish its global image while suppressing any independent mobilization at home or abroad, leaving Egyptians largely unable to publicly support Gaza. Read the latest here from Drop Site News.
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