Israel to approve 2,000 new West Bank settlements, Trump prepares to strike Venezuela military targets

Drop Site Daily: October 31, 2025

Israel conducts airstrikes on eastern Gaza City and the northern Strip. The Washington Post reveals a classified U.S. assessment identifying “many hundreds” of potential Israeli human rights violations likely to take years to assess. Washington dismisses Israel’s plan to revive the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—where thousands were killed seeking aid—as “unrealistic,” while preparing its own CENTCOM-led “international stabilization force.” Israel will soon approve nearly 2,000 new West Bank settlements. The Trump administration caps next year’s refugee admissions at 7,500—mostly white South Africans. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing airstrikes on military installations in Venezuela. The Pentagon announces a 23,500-strong National Guard “reaction force” to respond to “unrest.” The Lebanese president orders the army to confront Israeli troops following deadly incursions in Blida and nearby towns. The U.S. evacuates staff from conflict-torn Mali. King Charles strips Prince Andrew of his title and royal status amid renewed Epstein scrutiny. Protests erupt in Rio after a deadly police raid. Russia unleashes another massive strike on Ukraine’s power grid. The Netherlands’ center-left D66 narrowly edges out Geert Wilders, pledging stronger support for Palestine.

New Drop Site Investigation: Leaked emails from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reveal that Jeffrey Epstein helped open a secret backchannel between Israel and Russia during the Syrian civil war with the aim of deposing Bashar al-Assad. Read it here.

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

Heavy machinery at a new Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on October 30, 2025. Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images.

The Genocide in Gaza

• Israel attacked the Shujaiya and Tuffah neighborhoods of eastern Gaza City on Friday and bombed areas of Khan Younis, according to Al Jazeera. At least one Palestinian was killed and his brother wounded by Israeli gunfire in Shujaiya, Al Jazeera reported.

• Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinian captives to Gaza on Friday, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The handover came one day after Hamas returned the remains of two Israeli captives to Israel. The handover brings the number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel to Gaza to 225. All of them were unidentified and many bore signs of torture, abuse, and summary execution. Hamas has now returned the remains of 17 Israeli captives since the start of the ceasefire, with 11 more expected to be handed over. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel hands over 15 Palestinian bodies for every Israeli body.

• A classified report by the State Department’s inspector general found “many hundreds” of possible Israeli human rights violations in Gaza that could take “multiple years” to review, The Washington Post reported Thursday. The findings mark the first time a U.S. government report has acknowledged the scale of Israeli actions in Gaza under the Leahy Laws, legislation that bars U.S. military assistance to foreign military personnel accused of human rights abuses.

• All three Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the ceasefire agreement died while demolishing homes in Rafah, Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Alsaafin points out. Among them was Efraim Feldbaum, a founding member of the Uriah Unit—a formation accused by rights groups of flattening neighborhoods and using Palestinians as human shields.

• Dr. Ahmed Mahana, a Palestinian physician seized by Israeli troops from Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza, said in an interview with Channel 4 that he was blindfolded, shackled, and mauled by dogs before being beaten and interrogated for hours at Israel’s Sde Teiman detention camp. He said interrogators accused him of refusing Israeli military evacuation orders and “defaming” Israel in international media. Mahana is among more than 400 Gaza healthcare workers detained by Israeli forces since the war began, roughly 80 of whom remain in custody.

Ceasefire Updates

• Israel proposed reviving the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to reopen ten to 20 army-protected aid points along the “Yellow Line,” but U.S. officials have dismissed the plan as “unrealistic,” warning civilians must not be forced to cross militarized zones for food and aid, according to Haaretz. More than 2,600 Palestinians were killed at or near GHF sites since they began operating in late May. Washington is reviewing alternative aid delivery models, Reuters noted, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ruled out any renewed role for UNRWA, despite its longstanding role as Gaza’s primary relief agency.

• Senior Trump administration officials told Israel’s N12 that the U.S. will soon present a detailed plan for an international stabilization force in Gaza, led by CENTCOM and built around a new Palestinian police unit vetted by the U.S., Egypt, and Jordan, alongside troops from Arab and Muslim countries. Despite Israeli objections, Washington wants Turkey included, with one official saying Ankara “was very helpful in reaching the Gaza agreement.” The proposal hinges on securing Hamas’s consent so the force can enforce, rather than fight over, the ceasefire. A U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the mission is reportedly nearing completion, with final structural decisions expected within days.

West Bank and Israel

• Israel is refusing to sign a $35 billion gas agreement with Egypt, a move that prompted U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to cancel a trip to Israel. According to the Associated Press, a statement from Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s office on Thursday said U.S. officials had been “exerting a great deal of pressure on Israeli officials” to approve the deal, but that the minister would refuse to do so “until Israeli interests are secured and a fair price for the Israeli market is agreed upon.” Cohen’s refusal to sign the deal halts progress on what would be the largest gas export agreement in Israel’s history.

• Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the “Supreme Planning Council” will soon ratify 1,973 new settlement units across the occupied West Bank, a day after approving 1,300 in Gush Etzion. According to Quds News, Israel has approved nearly 30,000 settlement units across the West Bank since the start of 2025. The UN has repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.

• Palestinian media report that Israeli soldiers shot and killed 14-year-old Yamen Hamed in the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, around 11:15 p.m. local time. Witnesses said troops then blocked an ambulance from reaching the boy until he succumbed to his wounds. The killing comes amid a surge in Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank.

• Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israeli men protested in Jerusalem on Thursday against plans to draft them into the military. Israeli authorities shut down a major highway at the entrance to the city and deployed more than 2,000 officers. The trigger for the protest was a decision to bring enlistment legislation for discussion in a Knesset committee next week.

• A new report from the Knesset Research and Information Center recorded 279 suicide attempts among Israeli soldiers between January 2024 and July 2025 — roughly seven attempts for every confirmed suicide. Knesset member Ofer Cassif, who commissioned the study, warned the trend reflects a “suicide epidemic… expected to increase when the war ends,” urging support systems and a move toward peace. In a separate incident reported by Channel 13, a 40-year-old reservist set himself on fire outside a Defense Ministry rehabilitation official’s home.

U.S. News

• The Trump administration announced Thursday that the United States will admit no more than 7,500 refugees in the coming year—most of them white South Africans—marking the lowest ceiling since the program began in 1980. The decision, published in the Federal Register, offered no justification beyond “humanitarian concerns” and omitted other nationalities, including Afghans still seeking resettlement after the U.S. withdrawal. Refugee advocates condemned the move as discriminatory and a betrayal of long-standing commitments.

• The Pentagon has ordered thousands of National Guard troops to complete civil unrest training ahead of new deployments, signaling that President Donald Trump’s use of military forces in U.S. cities is likely to become routine. Internal Defense Department documents reviewed by The Washington Post outline a 200-person “quick reaction force” trained in riot control to be ready by January 1, complementing a larger 23,500-member National Guard Reaction Force expected to be fully operational by April.

• Calling into Omaha radio from Israel, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen claimed that Hamas fighters “cut live hostages, cut their hearts out, and ate their heart,” repeating debunked atrocity stories he said were told to him by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pillen’s recent visit, billed as a “trade mission,” focused on expanding Nebraska’s beef exports and defense-tech ties with Israel.

• Federal food-assistance payments are set to lapse for the 42 million Americans who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits amid the government shutdown. Food bank leaders in Houston, Washington, and Boston said demand has already surged 10-15%, with some centers opening early to meet need from furloughed workers and low-income families. Advocates warn that food pantries cannot replace SNAP’s scale.

• The Education Department advanced a rule barring employees of certain nonprofits—including those aiding undocumented immigrants, supporting protests, or providing gender transition care to minors—from qualifying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The 185-page regulation, effective July 1, allows the secretary to expel employers engaged in activities deemed to have a “substantial illegal purpose.” The move fulfills President Donald Trump’s March order to exclude groups he said support “illegal immigration” or “child trafficking,” a change critics call unconstitutional and politically motivated.

• The Senate voted 51-47 to revoke President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration underpinning global 10% import tariffs, a bipartisan rebuke of his trade policy. The measure follows similar resolutions to lift duties on Canadian and Brazilian goods, though the House has blocked any tariff challenges through March. Four Republicans—Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, and Mitch McConnell—joined Democrats in support, with McConnell warning that “tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive.”

International News

• The Trump administration is reportedly preparing airstrikes on military installations in Venezuela, according to the Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal. The planned strikes come as the Trump administration is increasing pressure on President Nicolás Maduro and top members of his government, while carrying out strikes on small boats in the region that have killed dozens in the past several weeks. Read Drop Site’s report on Marco Rubio’s push for regime change in Venezuela.

• Israeli forces carried out a series of attacks in southern Lebanon on Thursday, striking the villages of Al Jarmaq and Al Mahmoudiyeh near Jezzine, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, igniting large fires. At dawn, Israeli troops also entered the town of Adaisseh and detonated a hall used for religious ceremonies. Two more drone attacks in Harouf and Shebaa injured three civilians—marking one of the most intense days of Israeli bombardment and incursions in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire agreement in November 2024.

• Israeli media report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz convened emergency security talks overnight to discuss “next moves” on the Lebanese front amid near-daily Israeli strikes that have killed more than 330 people since the ceasefire. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar sought to justify the killing of a Lebanese municipal worker, claiming Hezbollah is “rearming” with Iranian support and that Israel “cannot bury its head in the sand.” The meeting also follows diplomatic moves by Egypt, whose intelligence chief Hassan Rashad and Ambassador Al-Badri visited Beirut this week after talks with Netanyahu and Shin Bet officials, according to i24 News.

• DOCUMENTS SHOW GERMANY COORDINATED ICJ TESTIMONY WITH ISRAEL: Internal Defense Ministry documents obtained by Drop Site and Der Stern reveal that the German government coordinated its testimony with Israel before appearing at the International Court of Justice in April 2024, where Berlin faced accusations from Nicaragua of complicity in genocide over weapons exports to Israel. If Germany’s statements were incomplete, experts said, a “political scandal” it would be an “affront” to the UN’s top court. Read the full report from Drop Site contributor Karim Natour here.

• The U.S. State Department ordered non-emergency employees and their families to leave Mali as fighting intensifies between government forces and al-Qaeda-linked militants. The directive follows a U.S. Embassy alert urging citizens to depart immediately amid fuel shortages, school closures, and growing insecurity around the capital. Mali’s crisis, rooted in a 2012 rebellion and coup, has worsened since early September, when al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin imposed a blockade on key fuel and food supply routes.

• Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic storms on record, left a trail of destruction across the northern Caribbean, killing at least 19 in Jamaica and 30 in Haiti. In Jamaica, entire communities were cut off as homes, bridges, and roads were destroyed, 72% of the island lost power, and 13,000 people crowded into shelters.

• Protests erupted across Tanzania and spilled into neighboring Kenya after opposition supporters denounced recent presidential and parliamentary elections as rigged. Demonstrators clashed with police, set fires, and tore down posters of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, whose near-total control of the race was reinforced by the jailing and disqualification of key opponents. At least two people were reported dead after fleeing clashes with Tanzanian police. Anger intensified as early results showed Samia winning around 95% of the vote in some regions, prompting EU lawmakers to label the election a “fraud” that had been “unfolding for months.”

• King Charles formally removed Prince Andrew’s remaining royal titles and honors, directing that he be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and vacate royal housing. Buckingham Palace described the decision as “necessary” and expressed sympathy for survivors of sexual abuse. The move follows renewed public scrutiny of Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl reignited global attention to the case.

• Thousands in Rio de Janeiro took to the streets demanding accountability for a police raid of an alleged drug trafficking operation that killed at least 121 people, including four officers, with public defenders warning the toll could reach 132. Rights groups have called for an independent investigation into what is now one of Brazil’s deadliest police actions in decades.

• A massive wave of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure Thursday killed at least six people, including a 7-year-old girl, and injured 18 others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 650 drones and 50 missiles were launched in the assault, part of what Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko called Moscow’s “systematic energy terror” ahead of winter.

• In a surprise result, the Netherlands’ center-left Democrats 66 (D66) party, led by 38-year-old Rob Jetten, is poised to defeat far-right leader Geert Wilders after tying at 26 seats but leading in total votes, according to preliminary results. Jetten, an openly gay politician and outspoken supporter of Palestine, has called for recognizing a Palestinian state, suspending the EU–Israel trade deal, and boycotting settlement products. D66’s surge from seven to 27 seats reflects a dramatic shift in Dutch politics, with Jetten expected to become prime minister once coalition talks conclude. The party, which now openly describes Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, is urging the Netherlands to back South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

More from Drop Site

• EPSTEIN, SYRIA, RUSSIA, AND THE MOSSAD: Leaked emails from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reveal that Jeffrey Epstein helped open a secret backchannel between Israel and Russia during the Syrian civil war, planning a meeting with President Vladimir Putin to discuss removing Bashar al-Assad and promoting a Russian-led peace plan. Between 2013 and 2016, Epstein advised Barak on messaging to the Kremlin, coordinated with Israeli intelligence contacts, and used his elite network to shape U.S. and Russian policy debates over Syria and Iran. Their collaboration, revealed by a trove of Barak’s emails hacked by Handala, also advanced Barak’s global business ventures and Israeli security goals. Though their effort failed to unseat Assad, it deepened covert ties between Moscow and Tel Aviv. Read the Drop Site exclusive report in full here.

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