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12 dead and 27,000 tents destroyed in Gaza storms; Report finds $1 billion in revenue from Gaza aid extortion; Trump signs order blocking state laws on AI
Drop Site Daily: December 12, 2025
At least 12 Palestinians killed as torrential rains, high winds, and flash floods batter Gaza. 13 homes have collapsed and more than 27,000 tents have been destroyed. Israeli artillery strikes kill one and wound seven in the Jabilya refugee camp. A new report from Mada Masr finds a network of businessmen reaped $1 billion “coordinating” the entry of goods into Gaza. Israel denies cancer treatment to a five-year-old Palestinian. Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir again threatens to demolish al-Qassam’s grave. President Donald Trump signs executive order blocking state laws on AI. Released Palestinian-American prisoner Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim returns to the U.S.; a new report claims Jared Kushner intervened to free the American teen, though Ibrahim’s family was unaware of any such intervention. Judge orders the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is confronted with a veteran she deported. The House of Representatives votes down Trump’s union-busting executive order. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee dismisses the connection between Israel and Epstein. President Trump’s redistricting plan is rejected by Indiana Republicans. House Republicans are nearing a deal to extend Obamacare subsidies. Trump considers revoking the visas of two of Elon Musk’s critics, including Imran Ahmed—a key opponent of UK politician Jeremy Corbyn and a figure who targeted opposition media in the UK. 33 killed in an airstrike in Myanmar. The South Sudanese army moves toward the Heglig oil field, with the approval of both Sudanese factions. The civilian death toll in South Kivu exceeds 400. Bulgaria’s government falls.
From Drop Site: A university in Gaza City begins a limited reopening. An evaluation of the 12-day war by Hind Hassan, from an Iranian perspective. Hassan will join Breaking Points later Friday to discuss her reporting.
This is Drop Site Daily, our new, free daily news recap. We send it Monday through Friday.
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The Genocide in Gaza
Winter storms batter Gaza, wreaking havoc: At least 12 Palestinians have been killed or have gone missing in Gaza over the past 24 hours as torrential rains, high winds, and flooding batter the enclave, according to the Government Media Office. At least 13 homes have collapsed, and more than 27,000 tents sheltering the displaced have been swept away by flash floods, either submerged by water or torn apart by strong winds. Civil Defense teams are struggling to respond to hundreds of distress calls. The office said more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza are at risk. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement that basic tool kits, sandbags, and water pumps have not been allowed into Gaza due to “long-standing access restrictions” by Israel. “These materials are critical for repairing and reinforcing shelters against continued rainfall and mitigating floods in sites,” the IOM said in a statement. Drop Site contributor Abdel Qader Sabbah captured footage from storm-battered Gaza, which is available here, and aid coordinator Eyad Amawi gave Drop Site an audio report of the devastation on the ground, which is available here.
Israeli artillery strike kills one, wounds seven: Gaza’s Civil Defense said its teams deployed to Jabaliya camp on Thursday afternoon, evacuating seven people wounded in an Israeli artillery strike while recovering the body of one woman who was killed.
Grandfather relays the story of his grandson, who was shot by Israelis and then run over by a tank: A grandfather in northern Gaza said Israeli soldiers shot his 16-year-old grandson Wednesday, and then drove a tank over the child “four or five times,” crushing him in the street. He said the family has not known a moment of calm, with quadcopter drones overhead “every day and every night,” as reported by Sahat English.
U.S. general likely to lead the “International Stabilization Force”: The Trump administration is moving to appoint a U.S. two-star general to command the International Stabilization Force in Gaza, even as the White House insists there will be “no U.S. boots on the ground,” Axios reported. The leading candidate is Major General Jasper Jeffers, who serves as special operations commander at U.S. Central Command and previously oversaw the U.S. effort to monitor the Lebanese ceasefire, though the White House says no final decision has been made.
Amnesty International releases a new report about sexual violence on October 7: Amnesty International published a 173-page report on abuses by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, including sexual violence. Amnesty said it documented evidence that sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence were committed during the October 7, 2023 attacks and against captives held in Gaza. Amnesty said it was unable, except for one case, to interview people who reported surviving or witnessing sexual violence, and could not draw conclusions about the scope or scale of the violations. The organization said it did not collect enough evidence to definitively conclude that rape occurred, citing limited access, while noting one man’s account of being raped at the Nova site and a therapist’s claim of treating three rape survivors. Amnesty also said it could not reliably determine the identity or group affiliation of those who committed the reported acts, and found no evidence that Hamas or other Palestinian armed groups ordered sexual violence.
Investigative report into aid profiteering: During Ramadan 2024, Palestinian businessmen based in Egypt met Sinai magnate Ibrahim al-Argany to complain that a “goods coordination” system created a monopoly that drove up prices in Gaza, according to a new investigation from Mada Masr. The economic coordination system ran through Rafah in partnership with al-Argany’s Sons of Sinai company and a small group of Palestinian permit holders. A database compiled by the Gaza Governorate Chamber of Commerce found that coordination fees tied to this system exceeded $1 billion over two years. The model evolved into wider profiteering on the aid going into Gaza. The full report from Mada Masr can be read here.
New documentary on British military participation in the Gaza genocide: Declassified UK released a documentary examining how British spy flights were used to support Israel’s war on Gaza from the Royal Air Force (RAF) base, Akrotiri, in Cyprus. Up to 116 previously undisclosed surveillance missions were conducted after aircraft disabled their trackers. The documentary alleges that Britain’s RAF streamed high-resolution video of Gaza to Israel in real time, and notes that the Ministry of Defence still refuses to release footage from a flight over Gaza that preceded a drone strike that killed three British aid workers. Watch the full film here.
West Bank and Israel
Netanyahu to visit Egypt to secure gas deal: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to travel to Cairo to meet Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and sign a $35 billion deal to supply natural gas to Egypt, according to The Times of Israel. Under the deal, which was signed in August, Israel would export roughly 130 billion cubic meters of gas from the Leviathan gas field to Egypt over the next 15 years. In November, Israel’s Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen announced the deal would not proceed “before ensuring that Israel’s security interests are protected and that a fair and competitive price is guaranteed for Israeli citizens.” Israeli officials have been working in recent days with senior U.S. diplomats on the planned trip. Read more about the gas deal in this piece by Mada Masr, which Drop Site reprinted.
Israel refuses to allow a five-year-old Palestinian to enter the country for cancer treatment: Israeli authorities are denying permission to enter Israel from the occupied West Bank to a five-year-old Palestinian boy with aggressive cancer who requires urgent treatment. The authorities say his registered address is in Gaza, despite his family saying he has lived in Ramallah since 2022, according to court filings seen by Haaretz. Lawyers say the child urgently needs a bone marrow transplant, which is unavailable in the West Bank or Gaza, and rights groups warn the refusal violates Israel’s obligations under international and Israeli law.
Ben-Gvir again threatens to demolish the grave of Sheikh Izz-al-Din al-Qassam: Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir renewed threats to demolish the tomb of Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam, a historic anti-colonial resistance leader buried in a cemetery near Haifa, Ma’an News reports. In a Telegram video, Ben-Gvir said the grave “must be blown up” as Israeli police removed a tent erected by the Islamic Waqf, some signage, and solar equipment under a demolition order.
Britain threatened to leave the ICC over Netanyahu’s warrant, Khan says: International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said Britain threatened to cut funding and withdraw from the Rome Statute if the court pursued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to The Guardian. In a filing defending his decision, Khan said British and U.S. officials pressed the court to drop the warrants as “disproportionate” and warned of “disastrous consequences.” Khan also argued that later sexual misconduct allegations against him were weaponized to undermine the warrants, which he said were prepared well in advance of the accusations and well-grounded legally. Read Drop Site’s own reporting on allegations against Khan here.
Kushner reportedly intervened to free Palestinian American teen Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim: President Donald Trump’s top aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner secured the release of 16-year-old Palestinian-American Mohammed Ibrahim from Israeli detention, U.S. officials told The Times of Israel. Ibrahim, a Florida resident arrested in February while visiting family in the West Bank, was held for more than nine months in administrative detention without charge. According to Drop Site contributor Jasper Nathaniel, Kushner’s role in the affair is “news to the family.” Nathaniel also released a video of Ibrahim returning to the U.S., and is available here.
U.S. News
Judge orders the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia: A federal judge ordered ICE to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose wrongful deportation to a notorious Salvadoran prison made him a symbol of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Judge Paula Xinis ruled the government had no legal basis to detain him after his return to the U.S., adding that officials “misled the tribunal” in attempting to deport him to multiple countries. The Department of Homeland Security says it will appeal the decision.
Executive order to block regulations on artificial intelligence: President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that blocks states from enacting any laws regulating or limiting artificial intelligence. The order also creates a federal “AI Litigation Task Force” that will have the “sole responsibility” of challenging state AI laws. The order also demands a review of existing state laws that could “require AI models to alter their truthful outputs.” A similar ban on laws regulating AI failed earlier this year when the Senate voted 99-1 to remove the measure from Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
New U.S. sanctions on Venezuela: The Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Venezuela on Thursday, targeting three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and six ships transporting the nation’s oil. The Treasury Department announced the sanctions targeted Maduro’s “’narco-nephews’ and businessmen, shipping companies, and vessels supporting his illegitimate regime in Venezuela.”
Noem faces facts about a deported veteran: Congressman Seth Magaziner (D-RI) confronted DHS Secretary Kristi Noem when she falsely claimed that her department had not deported any U.S. military veterans in a hearing on the Hill on Thursday. Magaziner presented the case of Sae Joon Park, a United States Army combat veteran shot twice during America’s invasion of Panama, who was deported to Korea earlier this year. The full exchange can be watched here.
Huckabee dismisses connection between Israel and Epstein: Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said people should “push back” against claims that Israel was behind Jeffrey Epstein, likening them to “crazy things” said about someone’s family. Drop Site’s reporting on this well-evidenced connection can be found here.
House votes down Trump’s anti-union executive order: The U.S. House voted 231–195 to overturn President Donald Trump’s executive order stripping collective bargaining rights from workers at more than two dozen federal agencies, with 20 Republicans joining Democrats to rebuke what labor leaders called the largest act of union-busting in U.S. history. The measure is unlikely to advance in the Senate, where Republicans largely oppose it, and supporters would need at least 13 GOP votes to overcome a filibuster.
Floods in Washington state force evacuations of more than 100,000 people: Historic river flooding submerged farms, towns, and infrastructure across western Washington, forcing evacuation orders for more than 100,000 people, as rivers like the Snohomish and Skagit approached record crests. Officials warned residents to evacuate immediately, cautioning that levees remain at risk and that additional storms could worsen flooding on already saturated ground.
Indiana rejects Trump’s redistricting plan: Indiana Republicans dealt President Donald Trump a setback by rejecting a redistricting plan he had pushed to shore up GOP control of the House. 21 Republican state senators joined Democrats to vote it down in one of the reddest states in the country. The defeat stymies Trump’s broader efforts to create safer Republican districts ahead of the midterms and suggests limits to his influence within his own party.
Lander criticized for investing city funds in Israeli weapons manufacturer: New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who announced his run for Congress in New York’s 10th District earlier this week, is facing scrutiny over New York City pension investments in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. Pension funds increased their Elbit holdings during Lander’s tenure, even as Israel’s genocide in Gaza escalated, The New York Daily News reported. Lander refused to divest from Israeli arms firms, though he had previously backed similar divestment efforts from Russian assets after that country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Harvard professor removed from post because of her center’s work on Palestine: Harvard is removing Mary T. Bassett as director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights amid sustained political pressure over the center’s work on Israel and Palestine, the Harvard Crimson reported. The move follows scrutiny of FXB’s Palestine Program and a now-suspended partnership with Birzeit University, after which the Trump administration demanded an external audit and froze federal funding. The move comes as part of a broader pattern of Harvard sidelining academics who work on, or with, Middle Eastern institutions and issues.
Trump considers revoking the visas of Musk critics: The Trump administration is considering revoking the visas of former European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton and head of the Center for Countering Digital Hate Imran Ahmed—both critics of Twitter owner Elon Musk—according to documents seen by Zeteo. A draft State Department memo frames the move as a response to alleged “censorship” of Americans, and to a European Union fine against Twitter, as the administration simultaneously tightens visa screening and includes online speech in its vetting process. Read Prem Thakker’s latest for Zeteo here.
Trump to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana: President Donald Trump is expected to push for reducing federal oversight of marijuana and its derivatives by rescheduling the drug to the same level as some common prescription painkillers, according to sources who spoke with the Washington Post. President Trump reportedly placed a phone call between marijuana industry executives and House Speaker Mike Johnson in order to encourage relaxing federal restrictions.
International News
33 killed in airstrike in Myanmar: At least 33 people, including patients and health workers, were killed and around 70 wounded, after Myanmar’s military bombed a major hospital in the Mrauk U township in western Rakhine, according to a rebel group, aid workers, and witnesses. The military government has recently intensified air attacks in the country’s now nearly five-year-old civil war. UN Rights Chief Volker Turk condemned the strike as a potential war crime.
Fighting between Cambodia and Thailand continues into its fourth day: Two dozen people are estimated to have been killed, after four days of fighting between the neighboring countries, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced on both sides of the border, according to the Associated Press. The Thai Army reported that rockets hit a residential area in the country’s northeast in Thursday’s fighting, while saying that it struck an alleged military crane near the Preah Vehear Temple, which has become a focal point of the conflict. In its most recent report, Cambodia’s government said 11 of its civilians were killed, and 74 wounded.
South Sudanese army moves towards the Heglig oil field: South Sudan’s military deployed to the Heglig oilfield, with the blessing of a rare tripartite arrangement between South Sudan’s military, the Rapid Support Forces, and the Sudanese Armed Forces. Sudan’s warring parties agreed to neutralize the site and protect critical energy infrastructure, Al Jazeera reported. South Sudan’s army said the agreement requires both Sudanese forces to pull back and keep the field out of combat as fighting intensifies in the Kordofan region. Control of Heglig—which was seized earlier this week by the RSF and processes up to 130,000 barrels of oil per day—has major economic and strategic stakes for both countries.
Civilian death toll in recent hostilities in South Kivu exceeds 400: More than 400 civilians have been killed as the Rwanda-backed M23 forces intensified their offensive in South Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Al Jazeera. M23’s recent efforts have sought to consolidate control of the town of Uvira, a strategically important city in the region, and has displaced about 200,000 people. The militia’s advances continue despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement between Congo and Rwanda.
Russia claims additional territorial seizures in Ukraine: Commanders told President Vladimir Putin at a Thursday conclave that Russian forces took full control of the eastern Ukrainian town of Siversk, Reuters reported. The commanders described the advance as a step toward capturing Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. Ukraine’s military rejected the claim, saying its forces still control Siversk and are repelling Russian infiltration attempts, while continuing to hold parts of the nearby city of Pokrovsk.
Bulgaria’s government falls: Bulgaria’s government resigned Thursday after weeks of mass protests over economic policies and entrenched corruption, with Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announcing his cabinet’s decision minutes before a scheduled no-confidence vote. President Rumen Radev will seek a new governing coalition or appoint an interim government ahead of fresh elections. This major overhaul comes just weeks before Bulgaria is set to join the eurozone on January 1.
U.S. State Department official refuses to name the UAE when pressed on Sudan: At a House Foreign Affairs hearing on crimes against humanity in Sudan, California Congresswoman Sara Jacobs pressed the State Department over evidence that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but the senior official refused to name the UAE and instead referred only to “external actors.” Jacobs and Sen. Chris Van Hollen are looking to advance legislation to block U.S. arms sales until the UAE ends support for the RSF.
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