Mass funeral for children killed in school strike; Israel weighs “buffer zone” in Lebanon; Gaza food and fuel supplies dwindle

Drop Site Daily: March 3, 2026

At least 787 people have been killed since Israel and the U.S. launched the war on Iran. President Donald Trump says the war could last more than four weeks and may involve a ground invasion. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. “knew there was going to be an Israeli action,” so the U.S. acted first. State Department urges Americans to depart Middle East. Iranian airplanes downed in Qatar. Drone attack causes minor damage at U.S. Embassy in Riyadh. Iranian strike on Manama hotel injured U.S. Defense personnel, diplomatic cable says. Khamenei’s wife dies from wounds after strike. Pakistan deploys military and issues ban on large gatherings. Israeli military issues evacuation orders as strikes intensify. Lebanese government orders Hezbollah to disarm. Palestinian Islamic Jihad says Lebanon commander killed in Israeli strike. Israeli military weighs Lebanon ground campaign to establish “buffer zone.” Gaza fuel and food supplies dwindle after Israel reimposes total siege. Israeli settlers killed two Palestinian brothers in West Bank village. UK Foreign Office funded Israeli October 7 sexual violence report. Primaries in Texas and North Carolina today. Former President Bill Clinton talks about Trump and denies misconduct in his Epstein deposition. Supreme Court blocks California law limiting parental notification on gender identity. Sen. Lindsey Graham hints Cuba could be Trump’s next target. Afghanistan-Pakistan war enters its fifth day. Ukraine says it has retaken nine settlements in Zaporizhzhia. Emmanuel Macron announces nuclear arsenal expansion. Gunmen kill at least 15 in Niger state village attacks.

NEW from Drop Site: Hakeem Jeffries to whip Democratic votes against Iran war.

Also from Drop Site: Reporting on the “double tap” bombing of Niloofar Square in Tehran. Drop Site on the Hill asks Senators about the Minab school strike, Iran war.

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

Mourners dig graves on March 3, 2026, during the funeral for children killed in a reported strike on a primary school in Iran's Hormozgan province in Minab. Photo by Iranian Press Center / AFP via Getty Images.

War on Iran

• U.S. and Israeli airstrikes pound Iran for a fourth day: U.S. and Israeli warplanes continued their assault on Iran Tuesday with a fresh wave of strikes, including an attack on the Iranian state broadcaster. The Israeli military also claimed it struck Iran’s presidential office and the building of the country’s Supreme National Security Council. Much of the bombing has been directed at Tehran, where scenes emerged of widespread destruction in residential areas, with collapsed buildings and debris on the streets. A double-tap strike on Niloofar square on Sunday left over 20 people dead. Read Drop Site’s coverage here.

• Mass funeral for dozens of children killed in school bombing: Thousands of residents in the city of Minab held a mass funeral for schoolchildren and staff killed in the opening hours of the U.S.-Israeli strikes when a missile hit a girls’ elementary school, killing 165. Video circulating on social media showed the streets packed with mourners. On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shared a photo on social media of what he said were dozens of graves being dug for the schoolchildren killed in the attack. “This is how ‘rescue’ promised by Mr. Trump looks in reality,” Araghchi wrote. “From Gaza to Minab, innocents murdered in cold blood.”

• Casualty counts: At least 787 people have been killed in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli military campaign began on Saturday, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. Over 153 counties across the country have come under attack, the Red Crescent said.

• U.S.-Israeli strikes damaged 10 health facilities: At least 10 medical centers, hospitals, and emergency bases have been damaged in U.S. and Israeli attacks, including facilities in Chabahar, Hamedan, and Sarab, according to a statement by the head of Iran’s Medical Council Organization on Monday. In Tehran, Khatam al-Anbia and Gandhi hospitals were also reported damaged, the statement added. The claim was reported by HRANA, an Iranian human rights monitoring outlet that receives partial funding from the United States government, as fighting continues to expand across the country.

• U.S. casualties rise: The U.S. military on Monday confirmed that a total of six U.S. servicemembers were killed in an Iranian missile attack on the Kuwaiti port of Shuaiba. The number of seriously injured U.S. soldiers more than tripled, the Pentagon reported, with 18 serious injuries, up from the 5 that were initially reported. Kuwaiti officials also announced two deaths from the attacks, both members of the Kuwaiti navy.

• Drone attack targets U.S. embassy in Riyadh: Iran’s retaliatory strikes have continued, with two drones striking the U.S. embassy in Riyadh on Monday, causing a limited fire and minor material damage, a Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson said. Following the incident, the United States Mission to Saudi Arabia issued a “shelter in place” order for Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dhahran and restricted non-essential travel to military installations.

• U.S. State Department urges Americans to depart Middle East: The State Department issued an urgent advisory on Monday telling American citizens in more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries to “DEPART NOW” via available commercial transportation due to “serious safety risks.” The list included countries whose airports have been shut down because of the war. Its travel advisory lists Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen as potentially unsafe locations.

• War could last more than four weeks and may involve a ground invasion, Trump says: After conflicting comments over the weekend, President Trump said at a Monday press conference that the war could last “4 to 5 weeks” (or longer), saying operations were “substantially ahead” of schedule. “We have the capability to go far longer than that,” he said. “We’ll do it. Whatever it takes.” In a separate set of comments, Trump told reporters from the New York Post that he doesn’t “have ‘the yips’ with respect to boots on the ground,” and may launch a ground invasion “if it’s necessary.” As of Monday, Trump is also claiming he made the final decision to strike Iran after he saw new intelligence that showed Iran resuming nuclear enrichment at a “totally different site.” Trump previewed escalating attacks in an interview with CNN on Monday, saying, “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”

• Hegseth discusses war plans: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said during a Pentagon press briefing Monday that there are currently no American troops inside Iran, but declined to rule out a future ground invasion. He added that the U.S. would go “as far as we need to go” to ensure Iran’s conventional and nuclear military capabilities are “completely neutralized.” He insisted that the war “is not Iraq” and would not be “endless.” He also said that the U.S. military would operate under “no stupid rules of engagement” during the war, that it would not engage in “nation-building,” and that this war would not be “politically correct.”

• Rubio says the U.S. “knew there was going to be an Israeli action,” so the U.S. acted first: During his remarks to the press after a classified briefing to Congress, Secretary of State Marco Rubio answered the question of “why now” by saying the administration “knew that there was going to be an Israeli action,” which “would precipitate an attack against American forces.” He argued the U.S. would have crossed some terminal threshold concerning Iran’s nuclearization “in about a year or a year and a half.” After that, he claimed, no one would have been able to stop a nuclear Iran.

• UAE reports the interception of additional Iranian missiles: On Monday evening, the UAE Ministry of Defense said its air defenses were “currently dealing with a barrage of ballistic missiles coming from Iran.” It claimed that it detected 174 ballistic missiles, 161 of which were intercepted and 13 of which were impacted at sea, during this weekend’s attacks. It also reported intercepting all 8 detected cruise missiles within its airspace, and 645 of 689 UAVs, with 44 drones impacting within state territory.

• IRGC adviser says Strait of Hormuz “closed,” insurers drop coverage for ships in region: Ebrahim Jabari, an adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is “closed,” and warned that Iran would “set any ship who wants to pass [through the Strait] on fire.” Jabari also suggested that Iran will strike regional pipelines to prevent oil exports. The closure of the Strait has already had profound effects on the global energy sector and on the shipping industry. According to a report from the Guardian, leading marine insurers, including Gard, Skuld, NorthStandard, the London P&I Club, and the American Club, have cancelled war insurance coverage for vessels operating in the Gulf and adjacent waters effective March 5. In response, freight rates have surged, with container rates from Shanghai to Dubai more than doubling and major carriers such as Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM diverting ships away from the region.

• Iranian airplanes downed in Qatar: Qatar’s Defense Ministry said Monday that its air force shot down two Iranian Su-24 aircraft after they entered Qatari airspace, adding that its air defenses also intercepted seven ballistic missiles and five drones, all of which were destroyed before reaching their intended targets. Qatar’s media office said the country’s Patriot interceptor missile inventory “has not been depleted,” contrary to a Bloomberg report that suggested supplies could last only four more days. Separately, Tucker Carlson claimed that officials in Qatar and Saudi Arabia arrested Mossad agents “planning on committing bombings” on Sunday evening, but Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Tuesday that there is currently no information about the presence of cells affiliated with Israel’s Mossad inside the country.

• Iranian strike on Manama hotel injured U.S. Defense personnel, diplomatic cable says: Two U.S. Defense Department personnel were injured in an Iranian drone strike on the Crowne Plaza hotel in Manama, Bahrain, according to a State Department cable, according to The Washington Post. Drop Site reported this weekend, citing Iranian officials, that some Gulf hotels were being used to house U.S. or Israeli personnel and intelligence operations. That piece is available here.

• Iraqi Shia militant group launches attacks on U.S. bases: On Monday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it had carried out 28 operations targeting United States bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region. The statement from the group reported that they had launched dozens of rockets and drones against what they described as “enemy bases.”

• United Arab Emirates and Qatar seek a diplomatic off-ramp: The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are privately urging allies to press President Donald Trump to find a diplomatic off-ramp in the ongoing conflict with Iran, seeking to keep U.S. military operations short and to prevent broader escalation, Bloomberg reported Monday. Both governments are reportedly engaging European leaders in pursuit of a swift diplomatic resolution.

• Erdoğan urges urgent containment of regional conflict: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned on Monday that unless decisive action is taken to stop the expanding conflict in the region, there could be “serious consequences for regional and global security,” and insisted that “the fire must be extinguished before it grows any more.” Erdoğan’s remarks, delivered at a Ramadan event in Ankara, criticized U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran as “clear” violations of international law.

• Masoud Pezeshkian visits key ministries amid wartime crisis: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Iran’s Oil, Industry, Health, and Agriculture ministries, issuing orders to maintain the country’s fuel supplies, stabilize the distribution of food and essential goods, and ensure uninterrupted medical care for those wounded in U.S. and Israeli attacks.

• Pedro Sánchez condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and blocks base access: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez rejected the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran as a “unilateral” and “dangerous escalation” that violates international law and the United Nations Charter, and urged an end to the “spiral of violence.” Madrid also announced that it would refuse to allow the United States to use the jointly operated bases at Rota and Morón for strikes on Iran, with reports that at least 15 U.S. aircraft have since relocated elsewhere in Europe. Sánchez also condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states as “illegal and indiscriminate,” a sentiment echoed by his foreign minister. Spain becomes the first major EU country to explicitly criticize the U.S.-Israeli operations.

• Pakistan deploys military and issues ban on large gatherings: Pakistan has deployed troops to the Gilgit-Baltistan region and imposed a nationwide ban on large gatherings, according to Reuters, after protests over U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran left at least 35 people dead. Authorities imposed a three-day curfew in Gilgit and Skardu and tightened security around U.S. missions in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Shi’ite leaders in the country have announced funeral processions for the deceased and have called for further demonstrations.

• President Donald Trump spoke with Iraqi Kurdish leaders: On Sunday, President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Iraqi Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani to discuss the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, a day after authorizing the Saturday bombing campaign, according to Axios. Kurdish forces control strategic territory along the Iran-Iraq border and maintain ties to Iran’s Kurdish minority. Axios also reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had lobbied for months for Kurdish involvement in the conflict, and that he views them as a possible ground force that could complement the U.S.-Israeli air campaign.

• Khamenei’s wife dies from wounds after strike: Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has died from injuries sustained in U.S.–Israeli military strikes that also killed him, according to Press TV. Iranian state media reported that several members of Khamenei’s family—including his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law—were also killed in the attacks.

Attacks on Lebanon

• Casualty counts: At least 40 people were killed and 246 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since Monday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. More than 30,000 displaced people are in shelters in Lebanon since the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Many of those displaced were unable to access shelters and are sleeping in their cars on the side of roads or are still stuck in traffic jams on the roads.

• Israeli military issues evacuation orders as strikes intensify: Israeli air strikes hit Lebanon for a second consecutive day, targeting residential neighborhoods in the southern suburbs of Beirut as well as in the south and in the Beqaa Valley. Israel struck the headquarters of Al Manar, a Hezbollah-aligned TV station in southern Beirut on Monday. A video also appears to show Israel bombing a 12-story building in Tyre, though no casualties have been reported from this attack. The Israeli military issued additional evacuation and forced displacement orders for at least 18 villages and towns in southern and eastern Lebanon, warning residents to leave ahead of planned strikes on areas it claimed were used by Hezbollah.

• More Israeli troops move into south Lebanon: The Israeli military appears to be launching a new ground incursion in southern Lebanon with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz directing troops to advance to 16 additional positions across the border, and the military announcing its soldiers were “operating in southern Lebanon.” Meanwhile, the Lebanese army evacuated some of its positions along the border. The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, says its peacekeepers saw Israeli forces crossing into Lebanon in several areas Tuesday morning. This comes amid reports that the Israeli military is weighing a possible ground operation to establish “a buffer zone” between Lebanon and Israel’s northern communities, according to Haaretz. Approximately 110,000 reservists have been called up to reinforce the northern border and the West Bank since the outbreak of the war with Iran, with the army saying it is preparing for “developments across multiple fronts.”

• Lebanese government orders Hezbollah to disarm: The Lebanese cabinet, led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, formally moved to curb the military role of Hezbollah on Monday, directing the Lebanese Army to implement its February 16 plan to confine weapons north of the Litani River and authorizing the use of “all necessary means” to enforce the plan. The government also ordered an immediate halt to Hezbollah’s security and military operations, demanded the group hand over its arms and restrict itself to political activity within “constitutional frameworks,” and instructed security forces to prevent rocket or drone launches and arrest violators. Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammad Raed rejected the decision, arguing the state had shown a “clear inability” to halt Israeli assaults.

• Palestinian Islamic Jihad says Lebanon commander killed in Israeli strike: Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Monday that Adham Adnan Al-Othman, 41, the Lebanon commander of its armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, was killed in an Israeli strike on a southern suburb of Beirut. Israel had earlier announced it killed a PIJ commander it described as responsible for attacks and cross-border operations along the Syria-Lebanon front.

The Gaza Genocide and the West Bank

• Casualty counts: Over the past 24 hours, the bodies of 18 Palestinians arrived at the hospitals in Gaza after being recovered from under the rubble. At least two Palestinians were injured in Israeli attacks. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,116 killed, with 171,798 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 631 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 1,700, while 753 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

• Gaza fuel and food supplies dwindle after Israel reimposes total siege: Gaza is rapidly running out of fuel and could soon face shortages of food staples after Israel closed all border crossings on Saturday after its joint attack on Iran with the U.S., according to Reuters. Karuna Herrmann, Jerusalem director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, said fuel stocks may last only “a couple of days,” while Palestinian aid official Amjad Al-Shawa estimated three to four days’ supply remaining. Late Monday, Israeli authorities said the Kerem Shalom crossing would reopen Tuesday for the “gradual entry of humanitarian aid,” without specifying the amounts that will be allowed in.

• Israeli settlers kill two Palestinian brothers in West Bank village: Israeli settlers killed two Palestinian brothers, Mohammad and Faheem Mo’mar, in the village of Qaryout in the northern occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, via WAFA. Mohammad was shot in the head, and Faheem was hit in the pelvis. Three others were wounded, including a third brother, and ambulances were delayed for more than an hour due to Israeli checkpoint closures, B’Tselem reported. At least 20 Palestinians were detained from the village.

• UK Foreign Office funded Israeli October 7 sexual violence report: The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office quietly provided £90,000—covering 75 percent of the budget—for Israeli organization Dinah Project’s report that described sexual violence on October 7 as “systematic” and “premeditated,” according to Novara Media’s Rivkah Brown. That characterization has not been substantiated by investigations from the United Nations or Amnesty International, and Israeli officials reportedly called the document “a significant public diplomacy tool” as state agencies coordinated a global campaign to promote it. Drop Site News previously reported that the Dinah Project report was, primarily, an 80-page case for lowering evidentiary standards required to prosecute Hamas for war crimes. Our full report is available here.

United States

By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.

• NEW: Hakeem Jeffries to whip Democratic votes against Iran war: House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) will whip votes in support of the War Powers Resolution this week, multiple Democratic sources told Drop Site News. The decision comes after a group of progressive Democrats urged leadership to break with their recent practice of allowing Democrats freely to back Trump administration policies, which began when 46 Democrats broke ranks to support the Laken Riley Act and set the stage for Trump’s mass deportation project. Four Democrats openly oppose the WPR: Reps. Greg Landsman (Ohio), Tom Suozzi (N.Y.) Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), and Jared Moskowitz (Fl.), who received a combined $1.7 million in the last election cycle from American Israel Public Affairs Committee according to The Lever. The House is tentatively scheduled to begin debate on Wednesday and vote on Thursday. Full story here.

• Primaries in Texas and North Carolina today: In North Carolina’s 4th district, AIPAC and AI money has flooded in to support incumbent Democrat Valerie Foushee, support facilitated by Jeffries. She faces a challenge from pro-Palestine, Bernie-backed Nida Allam, who is herself benefiting from outside money intended to boost candidates who oppose the genocide. It’s a major test for both AIPAC and the AI industry. In Texas, both Democrats and Republicans have closely watched Senate primaries, with James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett facing off in the former and Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton in the latter. Drop Site and Breaking Points may team up for an election livestream this evening. (Though we also may not, if we get too busy.)

• Bill Clinton talks Trump and denies misconduct in his Epstein deposition: Bill Clinton told the House Oversight Committee in a videotaped deposition on Monday that President Donald Trump once said he had “some great times” with Jeffrey Epstein before their relationship soured over a real estate dispute. Clinton said the exchange occurred at a golf tournament in 2002 or 2003, after he left office, and that it did not lead him to believe Trump was involved in any wrongdoing. Both Clinton and Trump associated with Epstein before the financier pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. Clinton testified he was introduced to Epstein as a donor, flew on his jet for foundation-related travel, and denied any improper conduct on his own part.

• Supreme Court blocks California law limiting parental notification on gender identity: The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a California law that would prevent involuntary outing of transgender students to their parents on Monday, granting an emergency appeal against the law from the conservative Thomas More Society. The parents who brought the action argued that the law caused schools to “mislead them” and secretly facilitate their children’s gender transitions. The state of California, however, argued that students have a right to privacy concerning their gender expression. The court stalled the enforcement of the law with a 6-3 decision.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham hints Cuba could be Trump’s next target: Sen. Lindsey Graham praised President Donald Trump’s military campaign in Iran and suggested that Cuba could be the “next” country Washington might confront, saying Trump is “on a roll” following recent operations abroad in an interview with Fox News. “Cuba’s next,” he said. “They’re gonna fall. This communist dictatorship in Cuba, their days are numbered.”

• Ruben Gallego endorses Graham Platner in Maine Democratic Senate primary: Senate hopeful Graham Platner has secured a key endorsement from Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego in Maine’s Democratic primary, bolstering his bid to unseat five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November. Gallego is the second senator, after Bernie Sanders, to endorse Platner, and the first Democrat to do so. “I think right now what people need and want is authenticity and a certain level of populism that they’re not going to get from Gov. Mills and they’re certainly not going to get from Collins,” Gallego told the Washington Post. “This is the candidate that can win.”

Other International News

• Afghanistan-Pakistan war enters its fifth day: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities and Pakistan’s military said their forces had targeted each other’s outposts along their 2,600-kilometer border as fighting entered a fifth day. Afghan officials said they destroyed a Pakistani armored tank and repelled jets near Bagram air base, while Pakistan said it struck ammunition depots and a drone storage site in Jalalabad. Pakistan claimed it killed 435 Afghan troops, and Afghanistan claimed it inflicted heavy casualties on Pakistan. Despite Qatar’s offer to mediate, there has been no visible progress toward de-escalation.

• Ukraine says it has retaken nine settlements in Zaporizhzhia: On Monday, Ukraine’s general staff said its forces have retaken nine settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region since late January, with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi saying Kyiv had regained more territory over the past month than Russian troops had captured for the first time since summer 2024 (via Reuters). The gains follow reported outages of Russian Starlink terminals on the battlefield, which Ukrainian officials said disrupted Moscow’s frontline communications.

• Emmanuel Macron announces nuclear arsenal expansion: President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that France will increase the number of nuclear warheads in its arsenal and temporarily deploy nuclear-armed aircraft to eight European countries—Germany, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, and Denmark—under a new “advanced deterrence” framework distinct from but complementary to NATO. Speaking at the Île Longue submarine base, Macron said the move responds to a “hardening” global environment marked by Russia’s war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, and broader nuclear expansion by major powers. Macron said France will no longer publicly disclose the size of its nuclear arsenal, reversing its past practices of transparency regarding its arsenal. France is estimated to possess roughly 290 nuclear warheads, the fourth-largest nuclear arsenal globally and the largest within the European Union.

• Gunmen kill at least 15 in Niger state village attacks: At least 15 people were killed after gunmen attacked three communities—Tashan Maje, Saduro, and Runtuwa—in Nigeria’s Niger state on Saturday, according to Amnesty International (via the AP). Assailants reportedly arrived on dozens of motorcycles, fired indiscriminately, and ransacked shops. The killings come amid a broader wave of violence across northern Nigeria involving Islamist militants and armed criminal gangs.

• Sudanese army repels assault on Dilling: On Sunday, the Sudanese army said it repelled a joint offensive by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North on the city of Dilling in South Kordofan state, according to reporting from Sudan Tribune. Fighting centered around the al-Taqma area east of the city and along the highway linking Dilling to North Kordofan. The SPLM-N claimed its forces and the RSF seized the al-Taqma garrison and cut the road between Habila and Dilling, assertions the army denied, saying it inflicted heavy losses on the militia and destroyed its combat vehicles.

• United States sanctions Rwandan Defence Forces over alleged support for M23: The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rwandan Defence Forces and four of its senior officials for allegedly supporting the March 23 Movement in eastern Congo, according to the Associated Press. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said M23’s offensives would not have been possible without active Rwandan support and called for the immediate withdrawal of government troops. Rwanda rejected the sanctions as unjust and accused Congo of violating the December truce agreement, which was mediated by the U.S. M23 itself has been under U.S. sanctions since 2013.

Drop Site on the Hill

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told Julian Andreone: “Israel should not be directing American war policy. That’s something the American Congress should be doing.”

• Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said Secretary Rubio invoking Israeli policy to justify an American war on Iran is a “terrible commentary on the United States of America.”

• Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) called the strike on a girls’ school in Minab a “horror.” He also rejected Secretary Rubio’s argument that the U.S. had to follow Israel into war to defend American interests. “I think it’s not a close call. We make foreign policy in the interests of the American people,” Wyden said.

• Sen. Thom Tillis (R- N.C.) said he “wouldn’t put it past the mullahs” to place military facilities near civilian areas, responding to reports that 165 schoolgirls were killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Minab. Asked whether he supports an independent investigation of the attack, Tillis did not directly endorse one, but said that “experts on the ground” are needed to determine what was in and around the site.

More from Drop Site

• Foiled armed plot puts focus on U.S.-based Cuban exile networks: Last week, Cuban authorities said they foiled an armed infiltration attempt involving U.S.-based Cuban exiles that left four people dead. In the aftermath, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío denounced what he called the “impunity” enjoyed in the United States by perpetrators of “violent and terrorist plots and actions” targeting Cuba. Drop Site investigates, here.

• VIDEO: Ten years of Donald Trump promising not to start new wars:

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