Drop Site Daily: October 20, 2025
Israel kills several Palestinians in Gaza City after claiming to begin “the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” following a wave of attacks on Sunday that killed dozens. Khalil al-Hayya leads Hamas delegation in Cairo. Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visit Israel for ceasefire talks. Israeli warplanes carry out three airstrikes in southern Lebanon. On “60 Minutes,” Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff describe the U.S. process of negotiating the ceasefire; Kushner argues that purported “cultural differences” in Gaza and the West Bank constitute a meaningful obstacle to Palestinian statehood. Israeli settlers attack an elderly Palestinian woman harvesting olives in the West Bank village of Turmus’ayyer; the incident was captured on camera by Jasper Nathaniel, a journalist and Drop Site contributor, in a scene he describes as an ambush. The Trump administration announces that the two survivors of a military attack on a semi-submersible vessel are being repatriated to their home countries, while initiating yet another attack, this time on the Colombian guerrilla group, the E.L.N. The Washington Post reports on a quid pro quo between the U.S. State Department and the government of El Salvador, which exchanged MS-13 informants in American prisons for U.S. access to El Salvador’s mega-prisons, where they intend to send Venezuelan migrants. Houthi forces detain UN employees in Sana’a, Yemen, alleging that they engaged in espionage. President Donald Trump urges Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cede territories in the East to Russia and to accept a ceasefire, saying that if he does not, Ukraine will “be destroyed.” Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to a ceasefire. Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira wins Bolivia’s presidential election, ending nearly 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism party.
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The Genocide in Gaza
- The Israeli military on Monday said it killed several Palestinians in two separate incidents in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City claiming they approached the “yellow line” where Israeli troops have withdrawn under the ceasefire agreement. Israeli forces also fired artillery in areas east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and explosions were heard east of Khan Younis, according to Al Jazeera.
- The bodies of 57 Palestinians arrived at hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the ministry of health, including 45 killed in new Israeli attacks and 12 recovered from under the rubble. At least 158 Palestinians were wounded. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 68,216 killed, with 170,361 injured.
- Since October 11, the first full day of the ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 80 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 303, while 426 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
- The health ministry published photos online showing some of the 150 bodies of dead Palestinians handed over by Israel as part of the deal. The bodies bear signs of abuse, beatings, handcuffing, blindfolding, and execution. Only 25 of the 150 bodies have been identified so far.
- Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that any Palestinians found beyond the “yellow line” where Israeli troops are stationed would be targeted without warning. Katz wrote on X: “I have instructed the IDF to convey a clear message to the Hamas leaders in Gaza through the American oversight mechanism: every Hamas terrorist found beyond the yellow line in the territory under Israel’s control must evacuate immediately. Anyone who remains in the area will be a target for attack without any further warning, and Hamas leaders will bear responsibility for any incident.” A day earlier, the Israeli military issued a similar order for Palestinians to leave areas still under its control—about 53% percent of Gaza.
- Israel carried out a wave of attacks on Gaza on Sunday, with strikes hitting a café and tents near hospitals in Al-Zawayda, schools and homes in the Nuseirat and Bureij camps, and areas near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, killing dozens of Palestinians. Israel claimed the attacks were in response to a ceasefire violation by Hamas, which the group denied. U.S. officials told Drop Site and other outlets that the killing of two Israeli soldiers was the result of an Israeli vehicle running over an explosive device or unexploded ordinance.
- Younis Tirawi initially reported that settlers from a private demolition company were injured in an incident in Rafah while operating a bulldozer.
- The Gaza Government Media Office said Sunday that all those killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp were civilians. The bodies were taken to Al-Awda Hospital, where officials released photographs showing rows of the dead after what they described as treacherous bombings by Israeli fighter jets across central Gaza earlier in the day.
- The Israeli military later said on Sunday that “following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas’ violations, the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire, in line with the terms of the agreement.” Dozens of aid trucks reportedly passed through Karem Abu Salem ( Kerem Shalom) and al-Karara (Kissufim) crossings on Monday, according to Al Jazeera. The Rafah crossing remains closed.
- Ismail al-Thawabta, head of Gaza’s Government Media Office, said Israel is violating the ceasefire by obstructing aid deliveries, noting that only 173 trucks entered on Sunday and 480 on Wednesday, with none allowed in on three other days this week. He said the closures are worsening famine and halting medical relief, adding that over 22,000 patients — including more than 10,000 cancer patients — await evacuation as Gaza’s only cancer hospital lies in ruins.
- Concurring, the UN’s Humanitarian Chief told the BBC that new malnutrition cases in Gaza are falling, with an average of around 600 trucks of aid—carrying food, medical supplies, fuel, and tents—entering daily. He said the ceasefire has allowed a “significant” increase in aid, including cooking gas for the first time in months, but stressed that “an avalanche of aid” will be needed in the coming weeks to meet the population’s needs.
- Palestinian journalist and broadcast engineer Ahmad Abu Mutair was killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on PMP Media Services’ headquarters in Al-Zawayda, central Gaza, amid ongoing ceasefire violations.
Ceasefire Updates
- Palestinian officials told Al Jazeera that the Gaza ceasefire has been reinstated on Sunday after a day of deadly Israeli attacks, following mediation by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States. The officials said discussions are now centered on establishing a binding mechanism to prevent or respond to future ceasefire violations.
- From 60 Minutes’ coverage of the Gaza ceasefire:
- Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and advisor Jared Kushner described behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to the ceasefire that went into effect on October 10. Kushner confirmed a trilateral mechanism between the U.S., Israel, and Qatar to share information. Both Witkoff and Kushner recounted meeting with Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya in Sharm el-Sheikh; Witkoff spoke with al-Hayya about losing his own son, a moment Kushner called pivotal, turning the meeting from a negotiation into “two human beings showing a vulnerability with each other.” After the deal, Qataris and Turks reportedly began hugging Israeli officials.
- Witkoff said he told Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during a cabinet meeting that “you can’t just play the victim all the time.” Kushner told 60 Minutes he believes Hamas is acting in good faith to recover the bodies of deceased Israeli captives and emphasized that both sides should “be proactive instead of blaming each other.”
- When asked whether Gaza—or a future Palestinian state—could function as a democracy, Kushner said, “Too early to tell… let’s see if we can make it functional. And if we can make it functional, there’s a lot of ways to do it.” (Israel has not permitted Palestinian elections since 2006, after Hamas won the legislative vote, while subsequent attempts, including in 2021, were blocked or canceled due to Israeli restrictions.)
- Kushner also addressed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, describing the territory as looking like a “nuclear bomb” hit it, while insisting it is not genocide. Speaking to families of captives in Tel Aviv, he said, “The biggest message that we’ve tried to convey to the Israeli leadership now is that—now that the war is over—if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better.”
- Witkoff and Kushner said their strategy for securing the ceasefire was to first gain backing from Arab states and then focus on persuading Israel.
- Kushner said “what a lot of the Arabs have been telling me is that [Gaza and the West Bank] have very different cultures,” and, therefore, any decision on linking the two politically will have to wait for now.
- Trump said on Sunday evening that the ceasefire is still in effect. He says Hamas has been “doing some shooting, and we think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that… it’s some rebels within. But either way… it’s going to be handled toughly, but properly.”
- From the same recent exchange with reporters:
Q: Do you feel Israel was justified with striking when it did?
Trump: Striking where?
Q: In Gaza. Today. And overnight.
Trump: I’d have to get back to you on that.
- U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived in Israel on Monday for additional ceasefire talks and will meet with members of Netanyahu’s government. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to travel to Israel on Tuesday.
- A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya is scheduled to meet officials from Qatar and Egypt in Cairo today to discuss the continuation of the ceasefire deal.
- The Guardian said Washington will also submit a draft UN Security Council resolution establishing an international stabilization force in Gaza, while Axios reported that Israel notified the Trump administration of its latest strikes through the U.S. command center overseeing the ceasefire, with Witkoff and Kushner urging restraint and renewed focus on isolating Hamas and developing a postwar administration.
- Hamas rejected U.S. State Department allegations that it planned to violate the Gaza ceasefire or carry out an imminent attack, calling the claims baseless and aligned with Israeli propaganda. The group accused Israel of arming and supporting criminal gangs responsible for killings, kidnappings, and aid thefts, and added that Gaza’s police, with public backing, are enforcing order through legal mechanisms. Hamas urged Washington to stop repeating Israel’s narrative and to hold the occupation accountable for ceasefire violations and its support of the gangs.
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesperson Muhammad Musa said Palestinian factions meeting in Cairo are coordinating a unified political position in response to Israel’s ongoing ceasefire violations. He noted that the delegation submitted a record of Israeli breaches to mediators and stressed that, despite Trump’s pledge in Sharm el-Sheikh, the conflict “has returned in another form” through continued bombardment and aid restrictions. Musa emphasized that the resistance remains committed to the ceasefire but called on Israel to end attacks and the blockade, urging mediators to hold Israel accountable and to pressure the U.S., whose backing enables Israeli impunity, he said.
- The State Department on Saturday issued a warning to Hamas, citing “credible reports” of a potential attack on Palestinian civilians that would breach the ceasefire, and said it had informed the guarantor nations of the threat. The announcement comes as Hamas has stepped up operations against Israel-backed gangs and looters destabilizing Gaza, while Israel continues to support at least four anti-Hamas militias operating within the “Yellow Line” of Israeli-controlled areas.
- The State Department’s warning to Hamas may be linked to a Gaza Interior Ministry amnesty issued on October 13, which gave non-violent gang members one week to surrender and settle their legal status amid the ceasefire. Gaza’s Arrow Unit and Radaa Force have been targeting looters and Israel-backed gangs, and the warning appears timed ahead of the amnesty’s expiration, when those refusing to turn themselves in could face arrest and prosecution.
- An 80-member Turkish disaster response team remains stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, awaiting Israeli approval to enter Gaza to help recover the bodies of deceased Israeli captives, Al Jazeera reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to reopen the crossing until all Israeli captives’ bodies are returned; two more were transferred Sunday, bringing the total to at least 12 of 28.
- On Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry presented a 60-day, $45 million plan to coordinate humanitarian aid, rebuild damaged medical infrastructure, and reopen border crossings. The proposal seeks to bring in 200 medical trucks each week to stabilize the enclave’s collapsing health system amid the ongoing truce.
West Bank
- Israeli forces arrested at least 11 people in raids across the occupied West Bank on Monday, including in Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Nablus, according to the state news agency Wafa.
- Masked Israeli settlers targeted Palestinians in Turmus’ayya, a village near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, early Sunday, injuring a woman and an international activist, setting cars on fire, and attacking olive pickers. The attackers then attempted to harvest olives from the village lands themselves. Journalist and Drop Site contributor Jasper Nathaniel documented the assault. He told Drop Site News that Israeli settlers are “hunting Palestinians” and warned that without intervention, the entire village could soon be overrun. Listen to the interview and full video here.
- Palestinian officials and local media reported Sunday that Israeli settlers attacked the Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, blocking its main entrance and preventing residents from entering or leaving. Authorities have not yet confirmed casualties or arrests.
- Seven-year old Adam Luay al-Rajbi and his brother Ibrahim were reportedly beaten and dragged by Israeli soldiers during a raid in Hebron’s Al-Kasara neighborhood in the occupied West Bank. Adam said soldiers struck his face, kicked his leg, and then aimed rifles at both children.
- An Israeli soldier reportedly assaulted a woman in the Al-Ain camp of Nablus after she attempted to prevent the army from detaining her husband’s body, which had been taken from an ambulance following his killing. The woman ultimately succeeded in reclaiming the body and had it buried.
- Israeli forces carried out a large-scale operation in Tubas overnight on Sunday, deploying around 30 military vehicles, two bulldozers, and infantry while sealing the city’s main entrances. The army said the raid followed minor injuries to two soldiers injured by an explosive device on Saturday, as the Al-Quds Brigades—Tubas Battalion—claimed its fighters detonated an anti-personnel explosive against Israeli forces, prompting evacuations.
- Israel has seized more than 70,000 square meters (745,000 sq ft) of land in the Nablus governorate, in the northern West Bank, according to a new report by the Ramallah-based Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission. The report said the Israeli military seized the land under “a military and security seizure order” issued for several Nablus villages in order to create a “buffer zone” around the illegal Israeli settlement of Eli in the area.
- Mahmoud Talal Abdullah, 49, from Jenin refugee camp, has died in Israeli custody, becoming the 79th Palestinian prisoner to die since October 2023. Arrested in February 2025 and diagnosed with advanced cancer, rights groups say he was deliberately denied medical care; the Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy called his death “a slow execution through medical neglect, not a result of illness.”
U.S. News
- The Trump administration announced that two survivors of a U.S. military strike on a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean are being sent to their home countries, Colombia and Ecuador, rather than held or prosecuted in U.S. military detention. The strike, part of a broader campaign against suspected drug traffickers, killed three others and targeted a craft the U.S. claimed carried fentanyl. President Trump described the operation as part of a formal armed conflict against drug cartels, though legal experts dispute this classification. The survivors were rescued by U.S. forces and transferred to the State Department for repatriation, amid ongoing military operations in the region.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Sunday that U.S. forces killed three men and destroyed a boat allegedly tied to Colombia’s National Liberation Army in the Caribbean, marking the seventh strike since September under President Donald Trump’s military-led anti-drug campaign. The administration has now acknowledged killing at least 32 people, claiming the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with cartels it designates as terrorists—a stance widely disputed by legal experts. Hegseth compared Latin American cartels to “the Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere,” echoing Trump’s broader effort to frame the killings as counterterrorism, despite Congress never authorizing such force.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio privately assured Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that the U.S. would hand over nine MS-13 leaders—including several federal informants—in exchange for access to El Salvador’s mega-prison to detain deported Venezuelans, officials told reporters at The Washington Post. The pledge, which required Attorney General Pam Bondi to void the Justice Department’s protection agreements, has outraged U.S. law enforcement officials who say it betrays years of undercover work and endangers cooperating witnesses. The arrangement served both leaders’ agendas: President Donald Trump secured a venue for his mass deportation program, while Bukele secured gang figures who could expose his alleged pact with MS-13 to lower crime rates. Only one informant has been returned so far, but judges and prosecutors are now scrutinizing the deal, which critics say undermines U.S. credibility and shields Bukele’s government from corruption probes.
- In a late-night federal raid on Sept. 30, U.S. agents stormed a South Shore apartment building in Chicago, arresting at least 37 residents—mostly Venezuelan nationals—as part of President Donald Trump’s intensified immigration crackdown. The operation—conducted with drones, helicopters, and a camera crew—left tenants zip-tied and interrogated alongside undocumented migrants. Agents said the building housed members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, but several detainees had no criminal records. Residents described flash-bang grenades, smashed doors, and terrified families pulled from their beds in the middle of the night. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned the raid as “a show of authoritarianism,” while advocates said federal officials have not disclosed where many of those detained are being held.
- Millions of Americans rallied nationwide Saturday under the “No Kings” banner in one of the largest single-day protests in modern U.S. history, with demonstrations at more than 2,600 sites across all 50 states. Protestors denounced President Donald Trump’s consolidation of power, immigration raids, and use of militarized policing, urging Congress and the courts to defend civil liberties and prevent what organizers describe as a slide toward authoritarianism.
- The Denver Police Department has launched a trial contract with Flock to test its Aerodome drones, capable of capturing video, audio, and license plate data to respond to 911 calls faster than officers. Civil liberties groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU, have raised concerns about privacy, data retention, and potential misuse. The trial, obtained via an open records request, runs through next August, after which the city may begin paying for the program. Drones remain undeployed, and officials plan a dashboard to track flight data. Colorado and Denver currently lack regulations on police drone use, while local groups urge policies to ensure accountability and that would prohibit arming drones. Read more about Flock from Drop Site contributor Jessica Burbank here.
International News
- In Bolivia, Senator Rodrigo Paz won the country’s presidential election on Sunday defeating former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga. Paz’s election marks the end of nearly 20 years of rule in Bolivia by the Movement Toward Socialism party that first came to power in 2006 with the election of Evo Morales.
- Israeli warplanes carried out three airstrikes in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, hitting al-Mahmoudiyah, al-Aishiyah, Arabsalim, and Houmin el-Fawqa—villages in the hilly Nabatieh district north of the Litani River, about 15–25 km from the Israeli border. The Israeli military admitted to the attacks claiming without evidence that it was targeting Hezbollah in the area. Israel has carried out near-daily attacks on Lebanon in violation of a ceasefire agreement signed in November 2024.
- Houthi forces detained 20 United Nations employees in Yemen’s capital on Sunday, a day after raiding another UN facility, according to UN officials. Those held include 15 international staff—among them UNICEF’s Yemen representative Peter Hawkins—and five Yemeni employees from multiple agencies; the Houthis accused them of espionage, allegations the UN denies. The raid, which involved the seizure of phones and servers, marks an escalation in the group’s broader crackdown on international organizations in northern Yemen.
- Colombian President Gustavo Petro said a U.S. military strike on September 15 killed Alejandro Carranza, a lifelong fisherman with no ties to the drug trade, whose boat had broken down and was drifting with its distress signal active. The attack comes amid a broader campaign by the U.S. targeting ships in the Caribbean Latin America accused, without evidence, of connection to the drug trade. After the attack that allegedly killed Carranza, a war of words escalated between Petro and Trump, with Trump threatening to cut aid to the country and Petro denouncing the U.S. president as “rude and arrogant.”
- U.S. President Donald Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday to accept a ceasefire along current battle lines and cede occupied territories to Russia, sources told Reuters. Trump reportedly refused to provide Tomahawk missiles, floated security guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow, and at one point warned that Ukraine would be “destroyed” if it did not make a deal. Officials said Trump’s stance appeared influenced by a recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who proposed a territorial swap granting Russia full control of Donetsk and Luhansk. Despite Kyiv’s insistence that surrendering those regions would amount to “suicide,” Trump maintained that Ukraine should “stop at the lines where they are,” signaling renewed pressure for a swift peace agreement ahead of a planned U.S.-Russia meeting in Budapest.
- China initiated one of its largest military purges in decades, as President Xi Jinping removes senior commanders accused of corruption and disloyalty. Among those expelled from the Communist Party and stripped of their ranks include the People’s Liberation Army’s second-in-command and top naval officials. The shake-up follows a series of investigations into graft within the military’s equipment and rocket forces, key to China’s nuclear and missile programs. Analysts say the purge underscores Xi’s determination to tighten political control over the armed forces and ensure absolute loyalty ahead of crucial upcoming party meetings.
- On Sunday, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire after a week of deadly border clashes. The ceasefire was mediated by Qatar and Turkey, with follow-up talks scheduled for October 25 in Istanbul. The Taliban and Pakistan pledged to halt hostile actions and stop supporting groups operating against the other, though Afghan officials accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes on civilians shortly after the agreement was announced.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Canada would enforce International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should either travel to the country.
More From Drop Site
- Policy Director of Defending Rights & Dissent Chip Gibbons features on the “Counterspin” podcast: This episode of the Counterspin podcast examines the stakes and the history behind Trump’s recent “counterterrorism” project with Chip Gibbons, who is also a Drop Site contributor. Listen here.
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