Israel raids Nablus in the West Bank, injuring 80+, Microsoft workers occupy president’s office in protest of company support for Israel, and the U.S. demands Lebanon's Hezbollah surrender arms

Drop Site Daily: August 27, 2025

At least 76 Palestinians have been killed and 298 injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours, with 10 more dying of famine and malnutrition, including two children. An ongoing Israeli raid in Nablus injures at least 80 people. Churches in Gaza City vow to continue sheltering civilians as Israel prepares its assault. Hamas’s Qassam Brigades released footage of a July ambush in Beit Hanoun that killed five Israeli soldiers. In Syria, Israeli drone strikes kill six soldiers near Damascus, part of Netanyahu’s escalating regional war strategy. In Lebanon, Trump’s envoys pitch a U.S.-Gulf backed “economic zone” in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament, while Sen. Lindsey Graham demands Lebanon surrender its arms before any conversation with Israel. In the U.S., Microsoft workers occupy president’s office over ties to Israel as Brad Smith acknowledges the company helps run Israeli military surveillance programs, Delta Airlines faces a $20 million lawsuit over alleged assault of a Palestinian passenger, Silicon Valley billionaires launch a $100 million AI super-PAC. Activist groups advocate for the immediate release of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, a Palestinian-American teenager detained in an Israeli prison. Britain, France, and Germany begin the process of reimposing U.N. sanctions on Iran.

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Israeli army raids the city of Nablus. Photo by Nedal Eshtayah/Anadolu via Getty Images.

The Genocide in Gaza

• Medical sources report 32 Palestinians killed since dawn today, including 8 struck while seeking aid, as Israeli forces continue their assaults across the Gaza Strip.

• Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports 76 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours—including one person recovered from the rubble—and 298 injuries. Eighteen were killed while seeking aid, and 106 injured. 10 died of starvation and malnutrition, including two children. The total death toll since October 7, 2023 is now 62,895 killed and 158,927 injured.

• Ahmad al-Batniji, 17, has died from severe malnutrition. Ahmad lived with Celiac disease, requiring gluten-free food and proper medical care. For months, Israel’s siege has blocked essential supplies, depriving him and thousands of others with chronic conditions of what they need to survive.

• The Israeli military is pushing deeper into Gaza City with tanks and warplanes, destroying entire neighbourhoods and leaving Palestinian residents with nowhere safe to go. Israel’s bombardment of three of the city’s eastern suburbs—Shejaia, Zeitoun and Sabra—is particularly intense, prompting thousands to flee.

• The Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates of Jerusalem issued a joint statement confirming that churches in Gaza City—including St. Porphyrius and the Holy Family compound—will continue to shelter civilians during Israel’s planned assault. Clergy and nuns said they will remain to care for those unable or unwilling to evacuate, warning that leaving often amounts to a “death sentence” due to starvation and the dangers of flight.

• The death toll from Israel’s “double tap” bombing of Nasser hospital on Monday has risen to 22 after two more Palestinians died of their wounds, according to the ministry of health.

  
  The Israeli military claimed without evidence on Tuesday that it was targeting a surveillance camera operated by Hamas. The initial strike killed journalist Hossam al-Masri, a cameraman with Reuters who was doing a live shot from the fourth floor of the hospital, and one other person. Israel did not provide any explanation as to why it bombed the hospital a second time approximately 15 minutes later when medics, emergency rescue workers and journalists had arrived on the scene resulting in a much higher number of casualties.

  
  Journalist Abdallah Alattar described walking to Nasser Hospital’s morgue this morning, where southern Gaza’s press corps normally gathers to document funerals. “Today, I stood on the sidelines, looking around me and finding only three colleagues beside me — in the place where more than 20 journalists stood every morning,” he said. At least eight of his colleagues were missing: five murdered in Monday’s double-tap strike on the hospital, and three more injured.

• News agencies, including Reuters and AP, have come under criticism for their coverage of Israel’s killing of journalists, including journalists who work with them. A Canadian photojournalist Valerie Zink working with Reuters resigned over the outlet’s response to Israel’s killing of journalists, including Al-Masri and Anas al-Sharif earlier this month who was part of a 2024 Reuters Pulitzer Prize winning team. “I have valued the work that I brought to Reuters over the past eight years, but at this point I can’t conceive of wearing this press pass with anything but deep shame and grief,” she said.

• The Qassam Brigades aired footage of a July 7 ambush in Beit Hanoun that killed five Israeli soldiers and wounded about 20. The video shows an Israeli unit advancing near the Erez crossing before being struck by two hidden explosives and anti-personnel mines, part of Qassam’s “Stones of David” operations. Spokesman Abu Ubaida called it “a blow to the hollow prestige of the occupation army.”

• Human Rights Watch said U.S. military personnel could face legal liability for assisting Israeli forces who commit war crimes in Gaza. “Direct participation by US forces in military operations in Gaza since October 2023, including by providing intelligence for Israeli strikes and conducting extensive coordination and planning, has made the United States a party to the conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. As a warring party, US forces could be jointly responsible for participating in laws-of-war violations by Israeli forces, and US personnel implicated could be held individually responsible for war crimes,” the group said.

West Bank

• An ongoing raid in Nablus has injured at least 80. The raid began at 3 a.m. local time, according to Middle East Eye, and appears to be ongoing. Nablus Governor Daghlas told the AFP the army had informed Palestinian authorities that the raid would last until 4:00 p.m.

• PA President Mahmoud Abbas met U.S. senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley in Ramallah today. Journalist @infinite_jaz reports the senators also met with the parents of imprisoned American Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim and murdered American Sayfollah Musallet, along with families of other Palestinian Americans killed in the occupied West Bank. They reportedly vowed to press U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee to demand Israel free 16-year-old Ibrahim from the Megiddo torture camp and seek justice for the others.

• Over 100 groups sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio advocating for the immediate release of Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, a Palestinian-American teenager detained in an Israeli prison under allegations of throwing rocks. “Mohammed’s health is dire and requires your immediate action to ensure Mohammed is free, safe, and with his parents,” the groups, which include CAIR, CODEPINK, Muslim American Society, and Democratic Socialists of America, write,”—his life is on the line.”

Ceasefire Negotiations and Diplomacy

• On Fox News, anchor Bret Baier opened his interview with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff by falsely claiming “Hamas leaders” were present at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital during the double-tap strike that killed five journalists, medics, and patients—a claim not even Netanyahu has made. Asked about foreign journalists being barred from Gaza, Witkoff responded not with concern for press freedom but by boasting he has entered Gaza twice, “wearing a ceramic vest” and a MAGA hat, and that people “cheered” when they saw it. He offered no comment on the safety of Palestinian reporters or the systematic targeting of the press.

• Witkoff also confirmed that Washington has abandoned the “Witkoff Proposal”—a phased ceasefire framework he and Israeli minister Ron Dermer crafted in June. Hamas accepted the plan last week, but Witkoff said Trump’s official position now mirrors Israel’s: only a deal releasing all Israeli captives at once. He added that Trump will chair an expanded White House meeting on Gaza today, focused on a “very comprehensive” day-after plan, which he claimed will reflect the president’s “heartfelt motives.” Hamas officials have accused both Israel and the U.S. of deliberately stalling negotiations to provide cover for their genocidal war on Gaza.

U.S. Politics

• At its summer meeting in Minneapolis, the Democratic National Committee rejected a resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel, despite a July Gallup poll showing only 8% of Democrats support Israel’s Gaza war. Resolution 18, introduced by Gen-Z member Allison Minnerly, called for an immediate ceasefire, suspension of U.S. aid, and recognition of Palestine, but was blocked in committee. Instead, DNC Chair Ken Martin announced a task force to continue the debate after withdrawing a weaker rival measure. The pro-Israel group Democratic Majority for Israel praised the outcome, claiming it showed party unity behind U.S. military aid to Israel.

• A study reviewed by The Lever finds that major outlets—including WSJ, NYT, WaPo, FT, Bloomberg, CNBC, Axios, and Politico—have routinely blamed inflation on droughts, tariffs, or wages while largely ignoring corporate profiteering. On average, 60% of articles since 2023 omitted greedflation as a factor, with Axios never mentioning it and CNBC leaving it out 73% of the time. The study says this media spin fueled policies cutting aid and blocking wage hikes. With Trump scrapping Biden’s antitrust order and tariffs driving new price spikes, economists warn corporations are again exploiting crises to gouge consumers.

• Microsoft employees and the No Azure for Apartheid movement occupied the office of company president Brad Smith on Tuesday, declaring a “Liberated Zone” inside the executive Building 34, renamed the Mai Ubeid Building after a Palestinian engineer killed in an Israeli strike. Bloomberg reported the company has spent the past year trying to crush worker dissent over its ties to Israel’s war on Gaza—enlisting the FBI, working with police, censoring posts, and firing employees. Despite repression, organizers say they will not stop until Microsoft ends its Azure and AI contracts with Israel’s military, pays reparations to Palestinians, and halts workplace discrimination.

• Later that day, Microsoft President Brad Smith held a press briefing. Asked about the company’s work with Israel, he admitted: “The vast majority of what Microsoft does for the Israeli military is protect the cybersecurity of the state of Israel… There are some other activities as well. That involves the use of Azure for storage for example, for processing of data.” On August 6, The Guardian, with +972 Magazine and Local Call, revealed that Israel’s Unit 8200 has used Microsoft’s Azure cloud to archive and analyze “a million calls an hour” of Palestinian phone data—one of the largest surveillance systems ever built for a civilian population. Leaked documents show Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella, knew the system was being used to plan airstrikes in Gaza and the West Bank, prompting a second external investigation into whether Microsoft is violating its own human rights policies.

• Delta Airlines faces a $20 million lawsuit after passenger Mohammad Shibli said he was slapped in the face by a flight attendant when his wife, wearing a Palestinian shirt, asked for water. Witnesses confirmed the alleged assault, which the FBI is investigating. Attorney Ali Awad says the case reflects entrenched anti-Palestinian bias at Delta, citing past discrimination reports and a 2023 incident where a Delta employee assaulted a traveler. His firm is demanding damages, Palestine sensitivity training for employees, and one day of the airline’s profits, arguing Delta has fostered a culture where violence and bias can thrive.

• Silicon Valley billionaires have launched a $100 million super PAC called Leading the Future to back “pro-AI” politicians in 2026, The Washington Post reports. Early backers include OpenAI president Greg Brockman, his wife Anna, and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which also supported Trump in 2024. Modeled on the crypto PAC Fairshake, the group aims to sideline “AI doomers,” block regulation, and promote policies like copyright scraping and massive new data centers. The PAC will operate nationally and in key state races in New York, California, Illinois, and Ohio. Critics warn it could reshape Congress much like crypto money did in 2024.

International News

• Britain, France and Germany are reportedly set to begin the process of reimposing U.N. sanctions on Iran on Thursday over outstanding disputes related to its nuclear program. The sanctions were lifted under a 2015 nuclear accord, but are set to be reimposed following the violation of the deal by the U.S. under the first Trump administration, the resumption of high-level uranium enrichment by Iran, and recent Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear program. Iran and the European Union are still engaged in talks aimed at potentially averting a new confrontation over the program, with international monitors reportedly returning to the country this week.

• U.S. officials have informed their European Union counterparts that they are prepared to provide intelligence support, air defense, and other forms of military assistance to a post-war plan intended to provide security guarantees for Ukraine against further attack. The deployment would not include U.S troops on the ground serving as peacekeepers, but would involve them working in a support role for a broader European Union mission.

• President Donald Trump’s threatened 50% tariff on Indian goods came into effect today, doubling the previously announced tariff rate on goods coming from the country. The measure has been described by the Trump administration as a punitive step aimed at punishing India for its purchases of sanctioned Russian oil during the Ukraine conflict. The sanctions come as the U.S. has also been seeking to cooperate with India as part of an Indo-Pacific partnership to contain Chinese influence in the region.

• Venezuela has said that it is deploying warships and drones near its coast in response to a U.S. military buildup in the region. The U.S. government has threatened to carry out military operations in the region targeting drug cartels, while also making threats against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, including placing a $50 million bounty for his capture or prosecution on allegations of drug trafficking. Venezuela has said that the U.S. deployment represents, “a serious threat to regional peace and security”

• Syrian state TV reported that six Syrian soldiers were killed in Israeli drone strikes on the Damascus countryside early Wednesday. A Syrian defense source told AFP the strikes hit a military building of the 44th Division in Kiswah, west of Damascus. The IDF gave no immediate comment, but Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks across Syria targeting army and Iran-linked positions. The strike follows air raids on central Damascus weeks ago that killed at least three people, and comes amid U.S.-mediated discussions aimed at easing hostilities in southern Syria. Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to keep striking Syria as part of Israel’s war strategy against Iran and Hezbollah, even as the region teeters on wider escalation.

• In Beirut, Trump’s envoys Tom Barrack and Morgan Ortagus (calling themselves “beauty and the beast”) pitched an “economic zone” in south Lebanon backed by U.S. and Gulf investment in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament. They said Israel would withdraw from Lebanese territory “step by step” only in parallel with Lebanon’s plan to dismantle Hezbollah. Barrack called this a “cadence,” with details revealed only once Beirut submits a formal plan by the end of August. Ortagus hailed Lebanon’s August 5 decision to consolidate weapons under state control as “historic,” but insisted “it’s not about words, now it’s about action.” The envoys framed Hezbollah’s arms as an Iranian project to be replaced by Gulf and U.S. capital, claiming 40,000 fighters could be integrated into a new economic system. Barrack also lashed out at Lebanese reporters, calling them “animalistic” and “uncivilized,” remarks widely condemned as racist and condescending, consistent with Washington’s policy of dictating Lebanon’s future.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), visiting Beirut with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), echoed the Trump administration’s line, telling Lebanese reporters: “Don’t ask me any questions about what Israel is going to do until you disarm Hezbollah.” Graham pressed Lebanon to dismantle its main defense force against Israel’s near-daily strikes and continuing occupation of five outposts in the south, offering only the prospect of a U.S.–Lebanon defense pact if Hezbollah is disarmed. His remarks drew anger as coercive and arrogant, ignoring Lebanon’s losses of nearly 4,000 dead, 16,000 wounded, and 1.2 million displaced during Israel’s 2024 invasion.

More From Drop Site

• Midterms are upon us, which means the fight inside the Democratic Party over its role in the unfolding Israeli genocide and its allegiance to the U.S. oligarchy have a forum in the form of party primaries. For Drop Site, Ryan Grim reports on two races embodying that contrast. One of them is in Maine, where a new Democratic Senate candidate, oysterman Graham Platner, has called out American complicity in the Gaza genocide and vowed to take on the billionaire class. His Democratic opponent, Jordan Wood, turns out to be one half of a power couple that has been at the innovative edge of the Democrat’s fundraising practice of carpet-bombing your inbox with their uniform message that the sky is falling.

• In the Minnesota Senate race, centrist Rep. Angie Craig is facing populist Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. The big campaign event up there is the State Fair, and Craig missed the opening day, apparently to be in Jackson Hole hobnobbing with the crypto crowd. She was the only elected Democrat to speak, and she warmed up the crowd for Eric Trump, who spoke just after her. More on the upcoming midterms we’re watching here.

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