Israel says it is opening “gates of Hell” as it demolishes high-rise in Gaza City, Hamas posts new video of Israeli captives as it calls on Trump to force a deal
Drop Site Daily: September 5, 2025
69 Palestinians were killed and 422 injured in the past 24 hours. Israeli Defense Minister says the "gates of hell" are opening in Gaza as the Israeli military destroys a high-rise building in a densely populated part of Gaza City. Israel has killed more than 19,000 children in Gaza, at a rate of one child every 52 minutes. The Israeli army says it now controls 40% of Gaza City and says it will escalate the offensive in the coming days. President Donald Trump insists on a deal where “all hostages are returned immediately,” and Hamas reaffirms their agreement to this deal. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. grilled by GOP senators. Thailand is set to pick a new prime minister, as the former leader leaves the country before a court ruling could lead to his imprisonment. U.S. sanctions three leading Palestinian NGOs. The State Department announces it will suspend the visas of Central Americans it suspects of working with China.
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The Genocide in Gaza
The Israeli military launched intensified attacks across Gaza on Friday, killing at least 44 people, including seven children in attacks on Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports at least 69 Palestinians killed and 422 injured in the past 24 hours. Six Palestinians were killed and 190 injured while seeking aid. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 64,300 killed, with 162,005 injured.
Three more deaths were recorded over the past 24 hours due to starvation and malnutrition, bringing the total since the start of the war to 376, including 134 children.
The Israeli military destroyed a high-rise building in a densely populated part of Gaza City on Friday. The attack on the 12-story Mushtaha Tower came after an Israeli military spokesperson said the military will target several multi-story buildings in Gaza City in the coming days, claiming without evidence that they are being used by Hamas fighters. The management of the Mushtaha Tower denied the claims that the building was being used by militants, according to Al Jazeera, and said the building was accessible only to displaced people.
The attack came shortly after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a social media post: "Now the bolt must be removed from the gates of hell in Gaza. The first evacuation notice is delivered to a multi-story terror building in the city of Gaza before an attack. When the door is opened, it will not be closed, and IDF activity will intensify - until the Hamas murderers and rapists accept Israel's conditions for ending the war, headed by the release of all the hostages and disarmament - or they will be destroyed." Al Jazeera reported the attack on the building came just 15 minutes after the forced evacuation was ordered.
The Israeli army said it now controls 40% of Gaza City and signaled that its offensive will grow even more ferocious in the coming days. UNICEF warned that “the unthinkable” is unfolding in Gaza City as Israel intensified its assault on homes and displacement camps.
To mark 700 days of genocide, Gaza’s health ministry released an updated breakdown of the death toll in Gaza: more than 19,000 children have been killed—among them over 4,800 under the age of five and more than 1,000 infants. For nearly two years, on average, a child has been killed every 52 minutes.
Ceasefire Negotiations and Israeli News
Hamas published new video footage of two Israeli captives along with the message “time is running out." Israeli media identified the two captives as Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel.
On Wednesday, Trump declared that Hamas must return all 20 captives immediately for the war to end, saying that if they do, “things will change rapidly.” In response, Hamas reaffirmed its willingness to make a deal that would see all Israeli captives released immediately in return for a ceasefire agreement that includes a prisoner exchange, lifting the siege, and halting Israel’s aggression. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AJ Arabic that Trump’s social media post is not a concrete offer but “an idea,” and that the group awaits a clear proposal. Read more from Jeremy Scahill and Jawa Ahmad at Drop Site.
Axios reports that White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Qatari officials in Paris on Thursday to explore the possibility of a ceasefire deal, following earlier calls with Israeli Minister Ron Dermer. While negotiations remain stalled, Dermer privately suggested Israel has not entirely ruled out a partial agreement, despite Netanyahu’s hardline stance. An Israeli official told Axios there has been “no significant move” from Washington or Hamas.
Hamas announced that a leadership delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya met Thursday in Doha with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, which the group denounced as genocide marked by starvation and mass killings. The talks also covered mediation efforts by Egypt and Qatar, Israeli annexation moves in the West Bank, threats to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the wider fallout of Israel’s June strike on Iran.
West Bank
At least 20 Palestinians were injured, including an infant, after dozens of settlers stormed the area of Masafer Yatta south of Hebron, reports the Anadolu news agency.
Israel is edging toward formal annexation of the West Bank. Settler leaders wield state power in the Israeli government, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has gutted occupation law, and illegal outposts have been legalized and expanded. Read: A detailed explainer by Drop Site contributor Jasper Nathaniel here.
U.S. News
The state of Florida announced a plan this week to roll back vaccine mandates in schools, raising concerns about the spread of measles and the return of polio, which had been considered eliminated in the U.S.
At the same time, Republican support for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is wavering on Capitol Hill, as several GOP senators voice concern over his handling of Covid vaccines and the recent firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Sens. John Barrasso, Bill Cassidy, and Thom Tillis criticized Kennedy for restricting access to mRNA vaccines, noting that vaccines were a signature achievement of President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed in his first administration.
The Trump administration has sanctioned three leading Palestinian human rights groups operating in the occupied West Bank and Gaza—Al-Haq, PCHR, and Al-Mezan—for submitting extensive evidence to the ICC to investigate Israeli war crimes. The groups documented civilian casualties, disproportionate attacks, arbitrary detentions, and other violations, while noting Israel has not prosecuted its officials. In a statement, Amnesty International called the U.S. sanctions “a deeply troubling and shameful assault on human rights and the global pursuit of justice.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio falsely claimed that France’s recognition of Palestine caused Hamas to “walk away from the negotiating table.” In reality, France announced recognition on July 24, a day after Hamas had already submitted amendments to the ceasefire plan that mediators welcomed. It was Israel and the U.S., not Hamas, who withdrew from the talks. Just weeks later, on August 18, Hamas agreed to major concessions in the US-Israeli drafted ceasefire framework. Israel has since refused to respond to Hamas’s acceptance of the deal.
Trump and his advisers, particularly Peter Navarro, sharply criticized India over Russian oil purchases and trade practices, straining a relationship once bolstered by personal ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Efforts to secure a trade deal between the U.S. and India have stalled, as Trump conditions approval on India’s compliance to reduce Russian oil imports.
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order today renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The order will reportedly designate “department of war” as a “secondary title” in order to sidestep the need for congressional approval to formally rename a federal agency. The order would allow defense secretary Pete Hegseth to use Secretary of War as his official title. The U.S. government had a Department of War until shortly after World War II, when the name was changed through an act of Congress.
International News
The United States directed the deployment of ten F-35 fighter jets to an airfield in Puerto Rico for missions targeting drug cartels, days after carrying out a strike on a boat that administration officials alleged carried drug traffickers tied to the government of Venezuela. The aircraft will bolster an already substantial U.S. military footprint in the southern Caribbean, amid rising tensions in the region and retaliatory military exercises by Venezuela.
U.S. Navy SEALs killed several North Korean civilians during a failed 2019 mission to plant a listening device in the country, the New York Times reported Friday. The civilians, who appeared to be diving for shellfish, encountered the SEAL team as it came ashore at night. U.S. forces opened fire, killing all aboard a small fishing vessel, the report said, without giving a casualty count. Citing current and former military officials, the paper said then-President Donald Trump approved the classified operation while pursuing talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The U.S. will restrict visas for certain Central American nationals accused of working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, targeting individuals allegedly undermining the rule of law in the region. These restrictions mean that Central American politicians, businesspeople, officials, and their immediate families will not be granted U.S. visas, if the U.S. thinks they are helping China to gain influence. Similar measures have been used previously in Africa and Southeast Asia as part of Washington’s broader effort to counter Chinese influence.
In Thailand, Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul was elected prime minister on Friday after winning a parliamentary vote. The vote follows the Constitutional Court’s recent dismissal of Pheu Thai’s Paetongtarn Shinawatra for ethical violations, and comes after years of instability, including the removal of multiple prime ministers and a weakened Pheu Thai coalition.
Argentina’s Senate overrode President Javier Milei’s veto on raising disability benefits, marking the first congressional reversal of his presidency, with lawmakers voting 63-7 in favor of the benefits. The defeat adds to Milei’s mounting challenges, including a corruption scandal involving his sister, a weakening peso, and declining approval ratings below 40%, raising doubts about his libertarian agenda and ability to expand his minority party in Congress.
Israeli players at an international chess tournament in Spain’s Basque country were reportedly barred from competing under their national flag, and told they must play under the neutral FIDE banner—or risk being excluded from the event.
Afghanistan’s official spokesman says the death toll from the Kunar earthquake two days ago has risen to 2,205 killed and 3,640 injured.
More from Drop Site
New article from Drop Site by Jeremy Scahill and Jawa Ahmad: Hamas to Trump: We Are Ready to Release All Israeli Captives in Comprehensive Ceasefire Deal
Watch Sumud Flotilla Update: A new video report by Drop Site’s Alex Colston, produced with footage from Enzo Pianetti, shows the fleet of civilian ships that left Barcelona five days ago. The convoy had idled Thursday off the coast of Menorca for technical reasons. Some vessels that had turned back earlier are poised to rejoin the main group, restoring momentum to the convoy. On board the Sirius, crew members spent the day preparing for the three-day crossing to Tunis: rigging a seawater shower, running interception drills, doing chores, and building camaraderie through conversation and shared activities. A spokesperson for the Sumud’s Steering Committee Bruno Gilga outlined the updated itinerary as the flotilla sails Friday toward Tunis, where additional boats are expected to join the steadily growing caravan bound for Gaza.
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I really appreciate this news letter summarizing these worthy items. Otherwise I could spend hours perusing different interesting lengthy articles. Thank you Drop Site!
OMG Israel is so disgusting I want to throw up and the world does NOTHING to stop it.