Trump wants Tony Blair for Gaza transition; Netanyahu says Israel must “finish the job in Gaza”; Comey indicted

Drop Site Daily: September 26, 2025

Israeli bombardments continue throughout the Gaza Strip, with at least 47 Palestinians killed on Friday. Medical infrastructure is breaking down in Gaza City, with the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City being described as catastrophic. The U.S. is reportedly backing a plan to install former British PM Tony Blair as the head of a “Gaza International Transitional Authority.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blames the West for the war in Ukraine and its continued escalation in his speech at the UN. The Department of Justice indicts former FBI Director James Comey. Trump signs a memorandum directing increased measures against “domestic terrorism,” with a particular focus on the “Antifa” threat. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth calls hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals to attend an urgent, unscheduled meeting next week in Quantico, Virginia. Israel’s heavy airstrikes in Yemen kill at least nine and wound scores. Italian dockworkers block a ship carrying oil destined for Israel. The Indian government attempts to quash protests in the northern province of Ladakh.

This is Drop Site Daily, our new, free daily news recap. We send it Monday through Friday.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen on a monitor in a translation booth at the 80th session of The United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2025 in New York City. Dozens of delegates from multiple countries walked out of the hall as Netanyahu took the stage. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The Genocide in Gaza

• At least 47 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza on Friday, including 28 in Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera. Over the past 24 hours, 47 bodies and 142 injured arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza’s health ministry. Five Palestinians were killed and 33 injured while seeking aid. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 65,549 killed, with 167,518 injured.

• Israeli bombardment hit homes, refugee camps, and displaced families across Gaza. The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company confirmed its eight-story headquarters was severely damaged.

• The situation at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is catastrophic, Gaza reporter Mohamed Shahen said on Instagram, as Israeli occupation forces advance with vehicles while international medical delegations have withdrawn south, leaving local doctors almost entirely without supplies under siege. Entire residential blocks in Al-Shati refugee camp have been bombed, and the majority of the injured and martyred brought to the hospital are innocent children. Australian doctors with PANZMA also warned Al-Shifa Hospital is under imminent threat.

• Civil Defense said that it was unable to rescue Ghada Rabah, who was trapped under rubble for three days as she waited for help in Tel Al-Hawa. When it arrived at the home to finally conduct the rescue, another strike had completely destroyed the building.

• ​​The White House is backing a plan to install Tony Blair as head of a new Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA), which would seek a UN mandate to be Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for up to five years, according to Israeli media reports. The plan is modeled on trusteeships in Kosovo and Timor-Leste, initially based in Egypt before entering Gaza with a UN-endorsed multinational Arab force. GITA would oversee a technocratic Palestinian Executive Authority, run key ministries, create a vetted civil police, and establish a “property rights” unit to prevent forced displacement, while excluding Hamas. After stepping down as British prime minister in 2007, Blair was appointed the official envoy of the Middle East Quartet—composed of the UN, the U.S., the EU, and Russia—which was established to mediate the so-called “peace process.” His performance was widely criticized.

• Wissam Hamada, the mother of five-year-old Hind Rajab, was evacuated from Gaza with relatives to a third country on Thursday after lengthy negotiations with Israel, a source told Drop Site. The killing of Hind and six family members in January 2024 made global headlines after a recording of Hind’s call with Palestinian emergency dispatchers was made public. The ambulance that was dispatched to save her was also hit, killing two emergency workers. Despite international outrage and forensic investigations proving Israel fired on both her family’s car and the ambulance, no one has been held accountable. Read Ryan Grim’s latest here.

The UN

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly on Friday saying that Israel must “finish the job in Gaza as fast as possible.” Addressing Hamas, he said, “Lay down your arms. Free all [the] hostages now … If you do, you will live. If you don’t Israel will hunt you down.” During the meeting, Netanyahu’s office tweeted that it had taken over phones in Gaza to stream the speech, though two sources in Gaza told Drop Site they did not personally experience this.

• Dozens of delegates from multiple countries walked out of the hall as Netanyahu took the stage. The AP reports that the US and the UK did not send their most senior officials or their UN ambassador to attend, instead sending more junior low-level diplomats. In response to several countries’ recognition of Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu said: “Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere.”

• U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday at the UN, said a Gaza breakthrough was imminent, pointing to meetings with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, and Egypt. He stressed returning Israeli captives “all at one time,” claimed U.S. hostages were already secured, and dismissed Erdoğan’s mediation as “not necessary.”

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed the West for the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, accusing NATO and the European Union of declaring “a real war” on Moscow through Ukraine. Lavrov said non-compliance with the UN Charter fuels global instability and multiplies regional conflicts, citing Ukraine as “a vivid example” of Western provocation. Russia has been waging a full-scale war in Ukraine for over three and a half years, while EU and NATO states provide military and financial support to Kyiv without directly entering the conflict.

• Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, addressed the UN General Assembly by video after being barred from entering the U.S., accusing Israel of waging a genocidal war that has killed or wounded more than 220,000 Palestinians and destroyed most of Gaza’s homes and infrastructure. He called for recognition of Palestine, a permanent ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, elections within a year, and said he was ready to work with Trump, Saudi Arabia, and France on a peace plan—while condemning Hamas’s October 7 operations and insisting Palestinians “do not want an armed state.”

• The UN added 69 companies to a blacklist of companies complicit in violating Palestinian human rights through their business ties to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The list includes vendors for construction materials, earth-movers, and providers of financial services, security, and travel from 11 countries. German building-materials company Heidelberg Materials, Portuguese rail systems provider Steconfer, and Spanish transportation engineering firm Ineco join U.S.-based travel companies Expedia Group; Booking Holdings, Inc.; and Airbnb on the list. The UN’s main human rights body passed a resolution nearly a decade ago to create the list. The database now contains 158 companies, the vast majority of them Israeli.

U.S. News

• Former FBI director James Comey was indicted on two criminal charges on Thursday, including making a false statement to Congress and the obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to his 2020 testimony about Russian interference in the 2016 election. In response, Comey declared his innocence and said, “Let’s have a trial.” Last week, Trump appointed his personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to replace Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure after refusing to bring charges against Comey.

• Trump signed a memorandum launching what he called an unprecedented crackdown on “domestic terrorism,” targeting Antifa and left-wing groups he accused of organizing violence. Senior White House official Stephen Miller framed it as the first all-of-government campaign to dismantle “radical left terrorism,” while FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will work with the Departments of Justice, the Treasury, and Homeland Security to “follow the money.” Trump warned violent acts could carry the death penalty and suggested “Antifa” might soon be labeled an international terror group.

• War Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals to attend an urgent meeting next week at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, raising confusion and alarm across the Pentagon, according to The Washington Post. No reason for the gathering has been provided. The directive follows recent controversial moves by Hegseth, including cutting top military ranks, firing senior leaders without explanation, and attempting to influence promotions across the armed forces.

• Trump envoy Richard Grenell confirmed he is in contact with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, saying, “I’ve spoken to Mr. Maduro, I’ve gone down to Venezuela, and I continue to talk to his team.” The conversation comes in the context of escalating U.S. aggression against Venezuela, including extrajudicial strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs, with the stated aim of removing Maduro.

• ​​A stop-work order from the Trump administration on August 22 paused construction of the Revolution Wind turbine farm off the coast of Rhode Island, laying off 1,000 unionized workers despite the project being 80% complete, Kari Thompson reports for Jacobin. Unions and environmental groups warned the halt jeopardizes thousands of skilled jobs, critical clean energy infrastructure, and efforts to lower electricity costs in New England. The administration has also threatened to block additional offshore wind projects, including Maryland Offshore Wind, SouthCoast Wind, and New England Wind 1 and 2.

• Microsoft said it is cutting off Israel’s access to technology used for mass surveillance of Palestinians, following revelations from a recent investigation. It marks the first time a major U.S. tech company has imposed sanctions on the Israeli military over human rights violations. Drop Site first obtained documents that showed Microsoft is a major provider of cloud services and artificial intelligence for the Israeli military. Read more here.

International News

• At least nine people were killed, including four children, in Israeli airstrikes on Sana’a Thursday, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry, with at least 20 jets carrying out more than 10 raids that hit a power station, residential areas, and military sites. Scores more were injured, including 59 children. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attacks targeted Ansarallah (Houthi) command and intelligence centers after a Houthi drone strike on Eilat injured 22 Israelis. In a televised speech, Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi vowed to continue missile and drone operations and a ban on Israeli maritime navigation in support of Palestinians.

• Italian dockworkers blocked the Maltese-flagged, Greek-owned tanker Seasalvia from docking in Taranto on September 24, stopping 30,000 tons of crude oil destined to fuel Israel’s military aviation. The action, part of a broader “people’s embargo” targeting arms and fuel shipments, forced the tanker offshore near Gallipoli without violence or arrests.

• Indian security forces imposed a curfew in Leh, Ladakh, on Wednesday after violent clashes between police and protesters demanding statehood for the territory left at least four dead and dozens injured. Protesters set fire to the local Bharatiya Janata Party office, and police responded with bullets and tear gas, injuring several demonstrators, according to India’s federal home ministry. Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been leading a hunger strike, called it off and appealed for calm, denying any role in the violence and attributing the unrest to frustration among young, unemployed residents.

• Iran has accelerated construction and fortification of a new underground nuclear facility built into a mountain near the city of Natanz, including reinforcing tunnel entrances, expanding its security perimeter, and deploying heavy machinery for excavation, according to satellite imagery analysis reported by Washington Post. Iranian officials state that new facilities at the site, referred to as “Pickaxe Mountain,” are meant to replace a centrifuge manufacturing plant destroyed during recent Israeli and American attacks. The International Atomic Energy Agency has requested access to the site in the course of recent negotiations with Iran.

• The Europa League is preparing to vote on suspending Israel from European football competitions over its genocide in Gaza, with most of its 20-member executive committee expected to support the move, according to the AP. Suspension would block Israeli teams from league tournaments and derail upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Italy. FIFA, meanwhile, faces mounting pressure from UN experts and governments like Spain to also exclude Israel, but the U.S. has vowed to block any ban.

• Authorities in Madagascar imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the capital, Antananarivo, on Thursday after protests over frequent power outages and water shortages turned violent, Reuters reports. Police fired teargas to disperse thousands of mostly young demonstrators marching with placards and chanting for electricity and water, while a large shopping mall and the homes of two lawmakers were looted.

Global Sumud Flotilla

• Four U.S. senators—Edward Markey, Jeffrey Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, and Elizabeth Warren—called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to protect the Global Sumud Flotilla after reports of Israeli drone attacks. With American citizens aboard, they warned that international law requires their protection and urged Rubio to ensure Israel refrains from force against the aid mission while facilitating humanitarian deliveries into Gaza.

• Greece’s Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said the Greek navy will ensure safe passage for the Gaza aid flotilla, but only within Greek waters. Italy and Spain have also sent naval ships to assist as the Global Sumud Flotilla presses toward Gaza under ongoing drone harassment, seeking to open a maritime humanitarian corridor.

• From the flotilla, Drop Site News editor Alex Colston told Breaking Points that Israel has smeared the mission as “Hamas” while pushing empty offers to divert aid.

More From Drop Site

• Drop Site’s Ryan Grim joined a small group of journalists and antiwar advocates who met Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. Pezeshkian, a reformist cardiac surgeon, condemned Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, said Iran has a succession plan if he is assassinated, and noted sanctions prevent Tehran from navigating U.S. politics. The meeting underscored Iran’s isolation and its conviction that Israel, backed by Washington, will strike again.

• Several Western states—including the UK, Canada, Portugal, France, Belgium, and Australia—have formally recognized Palestinian statehood as the UN General Assembly meets in New York. In an interview with Drop Site News, Dr. H.A. Hellyer warned that while recognition symbolically affirms Palestinian self-determination, without enforcement it risks becoming another Oslo-style trap that masks impunity and ongoing violence. Watch the full interview here.

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