Israel closes crucial West Bank crossing, Gaza takes center stage at the UN, 15 died in ICE custody under Trump
Drop Site Daily: September 24, 2025
At least 64 Palestinians are killed across Gaza, including 42 in Gaza City. Israel closes the Allenby/King Hussein Crossing, the only gateway for 3 million Palestinians into the West Bank “until further notice.” At the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump meets with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan for talks centered on a ceasefire in Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls the talks “very fruitful,” while Trump falsely claims the failure of negotiations is squarely at the feet of Hamas. Trump debuts a new approach to the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that Ukraine, with EU and NATO support, could “fight and win back all of Ukraine in its original form.” More video footage undermines ICE’s account of the murder of Silverio Vargas González near Chicago; the number of deaths in ICE custody under Trump climb to 15. Drones kill 11 civilians in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, including eight children. The Global Sumud Flotilla comes under attack by drones south of Crete, with at least 12 explosions across nine boats; Italy promises a ship from its navy will escort the flotilla in its humanitarian mission.
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The Genocide in Gaza
At least 64 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza today, including 42 in Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.
Over the past 24 hours, at least 37 Palestinians were killed and 175 injured, according to Gaza’s ministry of health. 5 Palestinians were killed and 20 injured while seeking aid. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 65,419 killed, with 167,160 injured.
Early Wednesday, Israeli forces carried out a massacre at Firas Market in Gaza City that left up to 20 dead, while additional strikes hit homes in the Sabra neighborhood as well as Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Medical sources also reported six killed in southern Gaza as tanks advanced and widespread demolitions continued, according to Ma’an News.
The health care system in Gaza continues to come under attack by the Israeli military with an airstrike on Tuesday on the main center of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) in Gaza City reducing the six-story building to rubble. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, which has partnered with PMRS, wrote on X that the center “was among Gaza City’s few functioning facilities, providing blood donation and testing services, trauma care, cancer medications and chronic disease treatment.” He added, “The continued destruction of Gaza City’s health facilities will cause more deaths and further overwhelm already overcrowded hospitals in the south.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday the oxygen station at Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City shut down after Israeli forces opened fire, leaving only three days of oxygen supplies. Military vehicles are blocking the hospital’s southern gate, trapping staff and patients. The organization warned that lives are at immediate risk and appealed for urgent international protection.
In what may be a prelude to another Israeli attack on Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the Israeli military released aerial footage it said showed Hamas fighters shooting from inside the hospital. Al-Shifa was once the largest hospital in Palestine but has been raided and attacked by Israeli forces several times over the past two years. Previous Israeli claims that Hamas had a command and control center under Al-Shifa were proven to be fabricated.
A recent assessment by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Gaza found a sharp rise in child hunger and injuries in Gaza, including a rise in amputations. The survey found that one in three children under three had not eaten anything in the 24 hours before the survey. “These are children who have lost limbs, who wake up screaming from nightmares, who no longer feel safe even in their own families. Our teams are doing everything possible to support them, but without safe access and basic supplies, their recovery is at risk of stalling completely,” Ciarán Donnelly, IRC’s Senior Vice President for Crisis, Response, Recovery and Development, said in a statement.
The Israeli military bombed the main branch of Bank of Palestine in eastern Gaza City on Wednesday, according to Al Jazeera.
West Bank
Israel announced the closure of the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge border crossing on Tuesday, the only crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, “until further notice.” The move came after an attack at the crossing last week by a Jordanian truck driver that killed two Israeli soldiers. It also came after a number of UN member states recognized Palestinian statehood. The crossing is the only cargo and passenger crossing available to Palestinians in the West Bank that does not lead to Israel. It is also on a key route for medical evacuations and delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the closure a form of “collective punishment.”
Israeli forces shot dead a 19-year-old man during a raid on the town of Anzah, near Jenin, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, at least three 13-year-olds were arrested by Israeli forces during a raid on the village of Deir Abu Mishal near Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office. Several other schoolchildren were detained in Al-Khalil/Hebron.
The UN General Assembly
Trump met with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), calling it his “most important meeting” of the day, as talks centered on a ceasefire, freeing captives, and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. Turkish President Erdoğan said the session was “very fruitful,” while Emirati media confirmed a joint declaration is expected. Earlier, Trump clashed with French President Macron, whose government recognized Palestine as a state on Monday, with Macron warning that Israel’s war strategy has failed to weaken Hamas.
At the UNGA, Trump falsely claimed that Hamas keeps rejecting ceasefire proposals. A prior phased deal, based on terms from Israel and Washington, was accepted by Hamas on August 18, but Israel has yet to respond. Earlier this month, Israel bombed the Hamas offices in Qatar, killing six people, while the last Trump plan was on the table.
Qatar’s emir told the UNGA that Israel “negotiates with delegations and plots to assassinate the members of the negotiation teams,” making cooperation impossible with a side that “does not respect the most minimum standards of cooperation.” Israel treats negotiations as “a continuation of war by other means,” he continued, deceiving its public while rendering Gaza unlivable, without education or medical care.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro used his final UNGA speech to accuse Donald Trump of complicity in genocide in Palestine and warned that the same violence could spread to Latin America. Speaking for nearly 45 minutes, Petro denounced U.S. war crimes, immigration policies, the war on drugs, climate inaction, and ongoing atrocities in Gaza, prompting the American delegation to walk out.
Trump said on Truth Social that Ukraine, with EU and NATO support, could “fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form,” calling Russia a “paper tiger” after more than three years of war. He claimed Moscow is in economic crisis, pledged continued U.S. weapons supplies to NATO, and suggested Kyiv might even push farther. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking after meeting Trump at the UN General Assembly, welcomed what he called a shift in Trump’s stance and said the U.S. president could be a “game changer” in the war.
U.S. News
Congress was just notified of the 15th death in ICE custody since Donald Trump took office, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said. She blamed the administration’s expanded reliance on private, for-profit prisons, saying they prioritize profits over people’s health and safety. She also relayed a report that ICE agents grabbed a five-year-old girl outside her home, held her, and refused to let go until her father—who has lived in the U.S. for 22 years—submitted to being detained. DHS has said these reports mischaracterize the interaction.
Police bodycam footage shows an ICE officer describing his wounds as “nothing major” after the September 12 shooting that killed Silverio Villegas González near Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. DHS had said the agent fired fearing for his life after being “seriously injured” when González dragged him with his car. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Mexico’s government are demanding a full investigation.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday if he stood by his comment that no one had died because of U.S. aid cuts and whether aid organizations were lying, and Rubio responded that deaths occurred because other countries, like England, Canada, and China, “didn’t give enough money or aid.” Stephanopoulos pressed, noting that Rubio was no longer disputing that the aid cuts had cost lives.
Lennar, the nation’s second-largest homebuilder, is selling excess housing not to ordinary buyers but to wealthy investors and corporate landlords through a new online marketplace, The Lever reported. The platform, offering data analytics and special mortgage deals through Lennar’s in-house lender, targets firms like Blackstone and Greystar, steering profits toward the company while keeping homes out of reach for typical Americans. Critics warn that this vertical integration boosts investor control, drives up home and rental prices, and squeezes out smaller builders, leaving first-time buyers and renters increasingly priced out of the market.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor on Monday night. In an MSNBC interview with Rachel Maddow, Harris said she supports “the Democrat in the race” and called Mamdani the party’s nominee, while highlighting other rising Democratic leaders nationwide. Mamdani, a state assemblyman, welcomed her backing, saying it shows his campaign for affordability resonates with Democrats across the country.
International News
Eleven civilians, including eight children, were killed on Saturday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when drones targeting gang leader Albert Steevenson struck a birthday party, the National Human Rights Defense Network reported. Steevenson, also known as Djouma, escaped unharmed, while six more children were injured; a second drone reportedly killed four gang members nearby. Earlier this year, the Haitian government hired Vectus Global, a company run by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, to operate drones.
Pakistan’s sharp decline in poverty has stalled in recent years due to economic shocks and structural weaknesses, the World Bank said on Tuesday, according to Reuters. After falling from 64% in 2001 to 22% by 2019, the national poverty rate rose to 25% by 2024, driven by setbacks including the Covid-19 pandemic, global inflation, and devastating floods. The World Bank noted that weak labor productivity, limited public services, and insufficient access to education have left many households just above the poverty line, making them vulnerable to disruptions, while government advisers said welfare expansions and job-creation efforts aim to reverse the trend.
UN experts urged FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel’s national football team, citing the UN Commission of Inquiry’s finding that Israel is committing genocide in occupied Palestine. They emphasized that international law prohibits states and organizations from aiding or normalizing such crimes and argued that sports cannot continue “as business as usual.” The call, targeting Israel as a state rather than individual players, was made by several UN Special Procedures experts, including Alexandra Xanthaki, K.P. Ashwini, Francesca Albanese, and members of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
In Jedburgh, Scotland, a self-declared African tribe is refusing to leave Scottish land despite an eviction order, dubbing the area the “Kingdom of Kubala.” The tribe’s king told Sky News, “The land and the earth belong to the creator of the heavens and the earth,” while its queen claimed the land was historically inhabited by Black Jacobites 400 years ago.
New satellite imagery shows Iran rebuilding missile-production sites hit by Israel in June, though analysts say key mixers needed for solid-fuel production remain absent. Reconstituting its missile program is vital for Tehran, which views missiles as its main deterrent after heavy losses to air defenses, and insists they remain off the table in talks with the West. Experts note Iran is seeking to replace critical infrastructure for its missile program, potentially from China, as it braces for possible U.N. sanctions to snap back this month.
Russian senator Dmitry Rogozin said Russia’s front lines in Ukraine are stalled due to parity in equipment, training, and morale, with advances coming only at a “colossal” cost. Despite the slow progress, Rogozin insisted that the war will continue, despite renewed threats from Donald Trump to direct more support to the NATO-led effort to repel the Russian military.
More from Drop Site
The Global Sumud Flotilla came under attack early Wednesday south of Crete, with witnesses reporting 15 drones overhead and at least 12 explosions across nine boats, damaging rigging on one and destroying the main sail of another. The attack prompted Italy to announce it was sending a navy ship to the flotilla to offer assistance. The United Nations called for a probe into the attacks. “There must be an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the reported attacks and harassment by drones and other objects,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan said in a statement.
New from Ryan Grim: FDA Commissioner Martin Makary misrepresented and misquoted Harvard’s dean of public health on Monday while arguing that acetaminophen use during pregnancy is linked to autism. Makary claimed to quote Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, saying, “There is a causal relationship between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. We cannot wait any longer,” though the statement did not reflect Baccarelli’s position.
Holdouts in New England: Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut remain the only Democratic senators from New England still backing Israel’s assault on Gaza without conditions, even as most of their colleagues shift positions. Both have canceled meetings with activists while maintaining ties to the region’s weapons industry, including Colt in Connecticut and Elbit Systems in New Hampshire. Organizers say their refusal to engage stands in stark contrast to senators like Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Murphy, who have moved toward supporting arms restrictions and greater humanitarian aid. Read the full reporting by contributor Elijah de Castro here.
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The scale of suffering in Gaza is staggering and morally intolerable. The deliberate targeting of hospitals, aid seekers, and children reflects a collapse of humanitarian norms. This is not just a tragedy—it’s a test of global conscience. Recognition of Palestinian statehood must be matched by urgent, coordinated action to stop the killing, protect civilians, and restore dignity. Silence and delay are complicity.
Kudos to Italy for sending a naval vessel to assist the Flotilla. Perhaps if all the countries of the Mediterranean would send their ships to escort the Flotilla boats, the much needed aid could reach Gaza.