Monday, August 10, 2026 – Trump on Iran: “We are low-keying it.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says no current negotiations with U.S., but Oman agreement is close. Iran issues six demands to open the Strait. WSJ: U.S. President Donald Trump hints he will end Iran war with Strait reopening. Vessel struck off the coast of Hormuz. U.S. sneaking millions of barrels of oil through southern Hormuz lane, official tells Axios. FT: U.S. blockade has halted Iranian exports of crude from Kharg Island. U.S. Vice President JD Vance says the U.S. is still “in the middle of the game” in war with Iran. Pentagon orders U.S. defense companies to speed up weapons production. Mohsen Rezaei appointed to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Saudi and Saudi-backed forces shell areas in Yemen’s Saada and Taiz. Yemen’s UAE-backed Southern Armed Forces claim drone strikes on Ansarallah. Fires reported at two major Saudi Aramco energy sites. Ansarallah launches assault on Red Sea port, killing seven. Oman works to contain oil spill near protected marine reserve. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally rejects U.S.-backed Gaza roadmap. Hamas reaffirms commitment to 15-point plan. Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov defends Israel, claims no troops beyond Yellow Line. Israeli attacks kill 13-year-old girl, wound several Palestinians across Gaza. Israeli attacks on Gaza over the weekend. Israel acknowledges death of Palestinian prisoner after two years. Israeli violations in Lebanon continue on Monday despite “ceasefire.” Israeli forces bombard southern Lebanon, demolish homes, and target workers over weekend. Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general. Trump names Will Scharf as White House counsel. Rep. Max Miller defies party pressure, will stay in race despite abuse allegations. Rep. Ed Case defeats progressive challenger in Hawaii Democratic primary. Federal judges allow TPS termination for Myanmar, South Sudan migrants. Palestinian students and faculty sue Columbia University for discrimination. Ukrainian strike targeting refining plant kills 13 in Russia. U.S. backs Philippines in new South China Sea dispute. Mass graves discovered in Sudan. U.S. drone crashes in Djibouti. U.S. and Ecuador conduct joint operation. Attacks in Congo kill 21.

THIS WEDNESDAY: RSVP for our live event on Israel’s Lobby.
Authors Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick join Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain live at 7pm ET, your questions answered on the spot. Paid subscriber exclusive.

RSVP NOW->

Iran

• Trump on Iran: “We are low-keying it”: President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that he is prepared to let economic pressure on Iran mount rather than launch a new military offensive, telling Axios the U.S. is “low-keying it.” “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump said.
  • Trump also pointed to oil prices falling to slightly above $75 a barrel as easing the war’s impact on U.S. consumers. “It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game,” he said.
• Iran FM says no current negotiations with U.S., but Oman agreement is close: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran is not currently negotiating with the U.S., and negotiations would not resume until Washington ends its violations of the memorandum of understanding and compensates Iran for the commitments it breached.
  • Araghchi did say, however, that the two sides continue to exchange messages through intermediaries, though he insisted that this is “not called negotiation.”
  • On Saturday, Araghchi said that Iran and Oman are “very close” to an agreement on a new legal and navigational framework for the Strait of Hormuz, stressing again that an agreement with Oman would not fully reopen the Strait.
• Six demands to open the Strait: Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who served until this weekend as Supreme National Security Secretary, articulated Iran’s six demands to reopen the Strait, calling on the U.S. to end all threats to the country, permanently end “war and aggression” against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq, lift the U.S. blockade of Iran, remove its naval and air forces from the area, pay for damages caused by its attacks, lift sanctions on Iran, and unconditionally release its frozen assets.
  • Iran’s terms, Axios noted on Sunday, were the prerequisite for a nuclear deal “until several weeks ago.” Now, they are the prerequisite for the Strait reopening.
• WSJ: Trump hints he will end Iran war with Strait reopening: U.S. President Donald Trump told aides he may walk away from the Iran war without a nuclear deal if Tehran fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Trump said he would lift the blockade if Iran fully reopens the strait, but disputes remain over other demands, including reparations, frozen assets, and waivers for Iranian oil exports, the report says.
• Vessel struck off the coast of Hormuz: A vessel was struck on Saturday by an unknown projectile near the Strait of Hormuz, 18 nautical miles east of Khasab, Oman, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations. The vessel and crew were reported safe, and there was no environmental damage. Oman’s Foreign Ministry condemned attacks on transiting vessels and warned about their potential to derail its ongoing negotiations with Iran over the Strait.
• U.S. sneaking millions of barrels of oil through southern Hormuz lane, official tells Axios: An unnamed U.S. official told Axios on Sunday that “around 8 million barrels of oil are going out of the Gulf every night” through Hormuz’s southern lane in coordination with the U.S. military.
  • The reporting has not been independently confirmed. Far lower amounts of oil have been suggested by available tracking data, with the maritime tracking firm Kpler reporting a total of nearly 16.9 million barrels moving west-to-east through Hormuz from August 1 to August 7.
• FT: U.S. blockade has halted Iranian exports of crude from Kharg: Iran’s crude exports appear to have stopped due to the renewed U.S. naval blockade, with no tankers loading at Kharg Island for at least a week, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
  • Kharg handles nearly 90% of Iranian crude exports and has been idle since July 31. Iran is still receiving revenue from earlier cargoes reaching Asia, including 26 Iranian-flagged tankers near Malaysia, but that income could dry up within weeks under a blockade. Empty tankers are also unable to return, while storage levels indicate Iran has begun cutting production, the report noted.

• Vance says the U.S. is still “in the middle of the game” in war with Iran: In a Sunday interview with Fox News, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. characterized the war with Iran as not presently near a resolution, saying that the U.S. was “in the middle of the game,” and that it intends to leverage its economic, military, and diplomatic advantages to “get the best outcome for the American people.”
  • Vance said the administration’s immediate priority is “getting as much oil and gas out of the Middle East” as possible.
  • He said Washington expects Gulf exports to return to prewar levels once the Strait reopens under a new agreement. He also claimed that Iran had told the U.S. it will neither impose tolls nor fire on commercial vessels, and that Iran is “hurting” and looking to get out of the conflict.
• Pentagon orders U.S. defense companies to speed up weapons production: The Pentagon issued a memo on Wednesday ordering U.S. defense companies to dramatically speed up the production and delivery of weapons and ammunition, as the five-month war with Iran depletes American arsenals.
  • In the memo, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg gave contractors a maximum of 21 days to submit plans to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules” for critical weapons.
  • The U.S. has burned through much of its stockpile of long-range precision missiles in the war. The Post reported the military fired more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the first month of the conflict alone, faster than manufacturers can replace them, alarming some Pentagon officials.

• Mohsen Rezaei appointed to lead Iran’s Supreme National Security Council: Iran named former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei as head of its Supreme National Security Council, according to state media. Rezaei replaces Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who was appointed after Ali Larijani was killed by an Israeli strike in March.

Yemen

• Saudi and Saudi-backed forces shell areas in Saada and Taiz: Four civilians, including two children and two women, were wounded when artillery from Saudi-backed forces struck a home in Wadi Hansh in Taiz, Yemen on Saturday, according to an Ansarallah media official. Separately, Saudi artillery shelled Tabara village in Ghamr district of Saada governorate, Al-Masirah reported.
  • Ansarallah-aligned governors in Hodeidah and Lahj urged residents to reject recruitment by Saudi-backed forces, warning them against becoming “fuel for the Saudi war.”
• Yemen’s UAE-backed Southern Armed Forces claim drone strikes on Ansarallah: The Emirates-backed southern Armed forces said Saturday they struck Ansarallah positions across three fronts in northern Dhale governorate. The Southern Armed Forces claimed “heavy losses” in personnel and equipment but provided no casualty figures.

• Fires reported at two major Saudi Aramco energy sites: Two fires were reported at two Saudi Aramco sites on Saturday.
  • Satellite fire-monitoring data showed a major thermal event at the Berri Gas Plant near Jubail on the Gulf coast. The extent of damage and cause remain unclear.
  • Separately, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry confirmed that a fire broke out at dawn at a facility belonging to Aramco’s Jizan refinery on the Red Sea coast. Aramco crews extinguished the blaze and no injuries were reported. Ansarallah claimed the attack.
• Ansarallah launches assault on Red Sea port, killing seven: Ansarallah struck the government-held Red Sea port of Al-Mokha on Yemen’s western coast with ballistic missiles and drones on Sunday. The “National Resistance Forces,” aligned with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, claimed four troops and three civilians were killed and 30 wounded, with a pier, buildings, and stored food damaged.
• Oman works to contain oil spill near protected marine reserve: Omani authorities are working to contain an oil spill covering around 390 square kilometers near the Hallaniyat Islands, more than a month after the tanker Caroline Bezengi, carrying roughly one million barrels of Russian oil, ran aground in waters off the country’s southern coast, according to Oman’s state news. The spill threatens environmentally sensitive areas, including coral reefs, turtle nesting grounds, and marine habitats around the Hallaniyat Islands marine reserve.
  • The cause of the incident has not been determined, though British maritime security firm Vanguard previously reported explosions aboard the tanker off Yemen’s Mukalla coast on June 6 that caused flooding and disabled its main engines.

Palestine

• Netanyahu formally rejects U.S.-backed Gaza roadmap: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally rejected a U.S.-backed 15-point Gaza roadmap announced by President Trump at the end of July, saying Israeli forces would not withdraw until Hamas was “fully disarmed” of heavy and light weapons.
  • He said Israeli forces would continue military “operations” in Gaza against what Israel labels “threats” to its forces and civilians.
  • Netanyahu also ruled out a Palestinian state in either the occupied West Bank or Gaza.
  • “Unlike all those who lecture us, we do what needs to be done for Israel’s security, and we can and know how to stand our ground, even against our best friends when necessary,” Netanyahu said, in a reference to the U.S.
  • Last week, Israeli ministers and security chiefs discussed resuming attacks on Gaza to signal that Israel rejects the U.S.-backed 15-point phase 2 roadmap accepted by Hamas, according to the Times of Israel. The report follows a lull in Israeli airstrikes over the past several days, though shootings by Israeli troops have continued, killing and wounding Palestinians. During the meeting, one minister reportedly described the roadmap as a “diplomatic October 7.”
• Hamas reaffirms commitment to 15-point plan: Hamas said in a Sunday statement that it remains committed to the 15-point Gaza roadmap agreed upon with mediators and supervised by the U.S.
  • It reiterated that its priorities are an end to Israeli attacks, Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip, the reopening of crossings and the entry of aid and shelter materials.
  • Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said about the group’s position that it “expects the mediators and the American guarantor to pressure Netanyahu and his government to adhere to the roadmap and not obstruct the process for internal political and electoral reasons.”
• Mladenov defends Israel, claims no troops beyond Yellow Line: Nickolay Mladenov, High Representative of the Gaza Board of Peace, said on Sunday that Israeli forces would begin a phased withdrawal only after all weapons in every sector of Gaza—including heavy, light, police, and personal arms—are surrendered and “rendered unusable,” contradicting the plan originally released by the Board and agreed to by Hamas. The plan includes a parallel process of storage of “heavy weapons” by the Palestinian resistance alongside a phased withdrawal by Israel.
  • “Nobody is required to do anything, last of all Israel,” before this happens and is verified, he said. In the same remarks, Mladenov falsely claimed that, “currently,” Israel had no “beyond the Yellow Line.” The original demarcation left Israel controlling roughly 52% of Gaza. Israeli officials now say forces control around 70%.
• Killed and wounded in Gaza: Over the past 24 hours, six Palestinians were injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
  • The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 73,386 killed, with 174,256 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,258 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 4,145, while 807 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.
• Israeli attacks kill 13-year-old girl, wound several Palestinians across Gaza: A 13-year-old Palestinian girl was killed on Monday after succumbing to wounds sustained when Israeli forces shot her on Saturday in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, WAFA reported. Several Palestinians were also wounded by Israeli fire in Jabalia, northern Gaza, early Monday, while Israeli artillery shelled multiple areas across Khan Younis, Al-Bureij, and Beit Lahia.
• Israeli attacks on Gaza over the weekend:
  • Israeli forces shot and wounded three Palestinians in Khan Younis on Saturday morning, according to WAFA.
  • Israeli forces shot and killed a young Palestinian man near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Saturday.
  • On Sunday, Israel shelled the Al-Bureij and Jabalia refugee camps, Israeli tanks fired on Gaza City, and the Israeli navy bombarded the coast near Al-Bureij, Khan Younis, Rafah, and Gaza City.
  • Israel shot and wounded three more Palestinians, including a child, on Sunday evening, opening fire in the central Khan Younis neighborhood of Al-Najjar and the western Al-Dahra neighborhood, according to WAFA.
• Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank:
  • Nablus: An Israeli settler attack on the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, injured two Palestinian men on Saturday, WAFA reported. Israeli soldiers shot and wounded another Palestinian youth on Monday morning during a raid on the Balata refugee camp, detaining five others.
  • Jenin: Israeli forces stormed the town of Ja’bad, in the Jenin governorate, on Saturday, sealing off its entrance and raiding dozens of homes, detaining several Palestinians in the process, according to WAFA. Israeli forces began bulldozing Monday Palestinian land between Marka and Qabatiya, south of Jenin, to establish a military post and build a settlement road. Forces also seized agricultural land and bulldozed the surrounding area.
  • Hebron: Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in a mosque in the town of Idhna on Saturday, an assault for which Israeli soldiers provided cover. During the attack, soldiers detained seven Palestinians, including the imam of the mosque. A separate settler attack in Wadi al-Rakhim on Saturday evening injured six Palestinians, one of whom was shot, according to WAFA. On Sunday, Israeli forces opened fire on a shepherd while he was grazing his flock in Idhna, killing three sheep and injuring several others.
  • Bethlehem: Israeli forces deployed sound bombs and tear gas canisters during a raid on the Dheihesh camp on Saturday evening, inducing several cases of suffocation, WAFA reported. Additional attacks were reported in the villages of Za’atara, Ash Shawawra, Dar Salah, and Al ‘Ubeidiya on Saturday evening.
  • Ramallah: Israeli forces fired tear gas into a Palestinian home during a Saturday evening raid in al-Mughayyir, leaving several members of the family, including children, struggling to breathe. Simultaneous raids were reported in the nearby villages of Turmus ‘Ayya and Abu Falah, and in the villages of Beit ur al-Tahta and Jiljilyya.
  • On Monday, Israeli forces detained Mahmoud Shalato, a former Palestinian detainee from the town of Aboud after raiding his home and ransacking its contents. Shalato has spent 10 years in Israeli prisons. Also on Monday, Israeli settlers attacked the Al-Kaabneh Bedouin community near Al-Taybeh, after attacking the same community last Thursday, injuring three members of a Bedouin family.
• Al Aqsa mosque stormed again: As many as 133 Israelis illegally stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque on Sunday under the protection of Israeli police, WAFA reported. Israeli Knesset member Zvi Sukkot raided the Nour Al-Huda School in the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, filming inside and placing signs reading “Closed” on the school’s doors.
• Israel seals off Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh: The Israeli army declared the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank a closed military zone on Monday claiming it’s to prevent escalating settler attacks in the area, according to Israeli broadcaster KAN. The order bars Israelis and foreigners, including activists and journalists, from entering the area. Settlers attacked Taybeh, one of the few remaining Christian-majority Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank, on Friday.
• Israel acknowledges death of Palestinian prisoner after years: Israel acknowledged on Sunday that Palestinian prisoner Ehab Diab, 36, died in custody, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission announced, nearly two years after Diab was detained.
  • Diab was arrested on December 12, 2023. The commission believes he died on September 18, 2024, after roughly nine months of reported torture in Israeli custody.

• Families protest Israel’s restrictions, medical assault on the Strip: Palestinian families gathered in Gaza on Saturday to protest Israel’s medical attacks on Gaza, describing their experiences watching their loved ones die from treatable illnesses as Israel blocks the entry of medicine into the Strip and restricts patients from leaving for treatment.
  • Dr. Saleh Sheikh al-Eid, head of oncology and hematology at Nasser Medical Complex, said three to four cancer patients are dying each day. More than 18,500 patients require medical evacuation from Gaza, according to the WHO.

• Ben-Gvir renews order banning family visits for Palestinian prisoners: The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club announced on Sunday that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir renewed an order barring families from visiting Palestinian prisoners, warning that their complete isolation enables torture, starvation, and “slow killing.”
  • The renewal came shortly after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled the continued ban on International Committee of the Red Cross visits unlawful.

• Palestinian Journalists Syndicate documents 108 Israeli attacks on journalists in July: The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate documented 108 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian journalists and media workers in July. There were 58 cases of brief detentions and reporting restrictions, 12 cases in which journalists were targeted with stun grenades and tear gas, 11 attacks by settlers including physical assaults and threats, and six cases of beatings, with four journalists sustaining injuries from shrapnel while covering events in Gaza.

Lebanon

• Israeli violations continue on Monday despite “ceasefire”: Israeli forces carried out a large explosion between Markaba and Rabb Thalathin in the Marjayoun district on Monday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). Israeli forces advanced into the western outskirts of Mais Al-Jabal in the Marjayoun district, as artillery shelling targeted a home. Forces set fire to a number of homes in Khiam in the same district. Israeli soldiers carried out a large explosion between Kfar Tibnit and Arnoun in the Nabatieh district, and another explosion in Zawtar Al-Sharqieh on Monday.
• Israeli forces bombard southern Lebanon, demolish homes, and target workers over weekend:
  • Israeli forces carried out attacks across southern Lebanon, with troops advancing toward Kfar Shuba as artillery struck Mays Al-Jabal, al-Mansouri and other areas. Israeli forces also targeted residential homes in Mays Al-Jabal.
    A video released Saturday reportedly showed Israeli forces firing toward the director and staff of the Bint Jbeil water department as they were conducting maintenance on the water network in Aita Al-Jabal.
  • Israeli artillery struck Kfar Rumman, the Ali Al-Taher hill, Al-Mansouri, the outskirts of Mayfadoun, Tallousa, Bani Hayyan, and Wadi al-Slouqi on Sunday.
  • Israeli forces demolished civilian homes and infrastructure in Zawtar Al-Sharqiyah, Al-Mansouri, Hadatha, and Sarbin.
  • Israeli forces also dropped incendiary devices in Ain Al-Tineh, setting fires in the area.

• Report: Israel conditions survival of Sunni Lebanese village on excluding displaced Shiites: Residents of Kfarshouba, a predominantly Sunni village in southern Lebanon, were told the town would be spared from destruction only on condition that they don’t shelter any displaced people from neighboring Shiite villages, The National reported. Israel has destroyed at least 60 villages across the predominantly Shiite south, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands and blocking their return.

U.S. News

• Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general: The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general early Saturday in a 50-49 vote, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining every Democrat in opposition after a contentious confirmation fight centered on Blanche’s controversial settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS.
  • Blanche, who had been serving in an acting capacity since Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, won over the decisive vote of Republican Senator Bill Cassidy after formally rescinding in writing the proposed $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and narrowing tax audit immunity for Trump and his family.
• Trump names Will Scharf as White House counsel: President Donald Trump announced Sunday that Will Scharf, currently his staff secretary, will replace David Warrington as White House counsel next month.
  • Scharf, a former personal defense lawyer for Trump, worked on the Supreme Court case which granted immunity to Trump for actions taken while he was president. He also ran unsuccessfully for Missouri attorney general in 2024.
• Rep. Max Miller defies party pressure, will stay in race despite abuse allegations: Rep. Max Miller, the Ohio Republican accused of physically abusing his ex-wife and young daughter, will not withdraw from his re-election race despite mounting pressure from his own party.
  • President Donald Trump personally called Miller last week to urge him to reconsider his odds, Sen. Jon Husted publicly called him unfit for office, and Sen. Jim Banks called his actions “deeply troubling.”
  • Miller will face Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union ironworker, in November.
• Rep. Ed Case defeats progressive challenger in Hawaii Democratic primary: Rep. Ed Case, a moderate Democrat from Hawaii, defeated progressive state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole in Sunday’s Hawaii primary.
• Federal judges allow TPS termination for Myanmar, South Sudan migrants: Two U.S. district judges rejected efforts to preserve Temporary Protected Status for migrants from South Sudan and Myanmar, prompting the Department of Homeland Security to confirm the protections were halted effective August 7. The decisions will affect about 4,200 migrants, according to Reuters.
  • Judge Patti Saris of Boston and Judge Matthew Kennelly of Chicago issued the rulings following a June Supreme Court decision that ended TPS protections for Haitian and Syrian migrants.
• Palestinian students and faculty sue Columbia University for discrimination: A group of Palestinian students and faculty are filing a lawsuit against Columbia University today alleging that the university engaged in “anti-Palestinian discrimination and fostered a hostile learning and work environment.”
  • The plaintiffs—Hadeel Assali, Bahia Munem, Mahdi Sabbagh, Maryam Alwan, and Layla Saliba—allege that since October 2023, Columbia University failed to protect Palestinian students, faculty, and staff from harassment, threats, and doxxing targeting Palestinians on campus, while aggressively disciplining pro-Palestinian students, increasing surveillance of their speech and activities, and subjecting them to unequal treatment.
  • “We are bringing this case because Columbia failed in its basic duty to ensure a safe and equitable environment,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement. “Instead of protecting us, the University contributed to discrimination and harassment of its Palestinian community and created a climate of intimidation, fear, and hostility.”

Other International News

• Ukrainian strike targeting refining plant kills 13 in Russia: A Ukrainian drone attack on Nizhnekamsk in Russia’s Tatarstan region killed at least 13 people, including a child, and injured 39, according to Russian authorities.
  • Ukraine said the strike targeted Tatneft’s TANECO refinery, about 800 kilometers east of Moscow.
  • The attack comes amid an intensified Ukrainian strike campaign against Russian oil infrastructure, which has contributed to fuel shortages in parts of the country.
  • In separate incidents three people were killed and 37 wounded in a Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, while authorities in Russia’s Belgorod said five were ​killed and 25 wounded by another Ukrainian drone attack.
• U.S. backs Philippines in new South China Sea dispute: The State Department accused China of using a “national nature reserve” designation around the Scarborough Reef maritime area as a pretext to strengthen its territorial claims.
  • The statement said that the designation was coercion by Beijing and reiterated support for the Philippines in its claim over disputed maritime waters which have been the site of naval clashes in recent months.
  • The dispute stems from a 2016 international tribunal ruling that rejected Chinese claims to the waters.
• Mass graves discovered in Sudan: Mass graves containing the bodies of 25 civilians, including women, children, and hospital staff, were discovered in Kurmuk after the Sudanese military recaptured the town, Sudan Tribune reports. Kurmuk’s commissioner said the victims were executed by the RSF near Jebel Fankat.
  • The RSF and an SPLM-N faction seized the Ethiopian border town on March 8 before the military retook it on July 8.
• U.S. drone crashes in Djibouti: A U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reaper drone crashed near Chabelley Airfield in Djibouti on Sunday. Chabelley Airfield is a heavily restricted desert base and serves as the central hub for American unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance flights across the Horn of Africa and the southern Red Sea. The cause is currently under investigation.
• U.S. and Ecuador conduct joint operation: Ecuadorian and U.S. forces carried out a joint operation in Ecuador’s northern border province of Esmeraldas, Ecuador’s Defense Ministry announced Friday, deploying troops in riverine areas and destroying a clandestine site allegedly used by drug-trafficking groups.
  • The operation comes a few days after U.S. Southern Command announced it was replacing Joint Task Force-Southern Spear with a new Joint Task Force-Western Hemisphere, which it said would “secure the region and defeat all threats.”
  • U.S.-Ecuador joint military operations began in March under the U.S. campaign against “narco-terrorists.”

• Attacks in Congo kill 21: At least 21 civilians were killed in attacks attributed to Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in Mambasa territory, in eastern DR Congo’s Ituri province, overnight Friday and into Saturday, Drop Site’s Africa correspondent Godfrey Olukya reported.
  • “21 bodies have so far been discovered,” a local police officer said, warning that the toll remains provisional because villagers are still missing. Local leaders said they had warned authorities about an ADF presence days before the attack but received no help and no response.
  • The ADF was formed in Uganda in 1995, originally seeking to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni, before relocating into eastern Congo amid military pressure. The group later pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2019 and has carried out repeated massacres of civilians.

🎥 WATCH Israel’s Secret Sales Pitch to Provide Surveillance Drones to the UAE

📖 READ Israel’s Brutal Retaliation Against Imprisoned Palestinian Doctors Seeking Legal Appeals

🛒 SHOP for your Drop News/Not Bombs Hoodie

💬 JOIN our Whatsapp Broadcast Channel for the latest reporting, podcasts, and breaking news, delivered directly

⚠️ TOO MANY EMAILS? You can go to your account settings to unsubscribe from the Drop Site Daily newsletter—while still getting the rest of our reporting