Trump signs order to prosecute those who burn U.S. flag (while inciting violence), Netanyahu "regrets" killing journalists, and Ritchie Torres's secret stocks in U.S. weaponry

Drop Site Daily: August 26, 2025

75 Palestinians have been killed, 370 injured, and three have died due to famine over the past 24 hours. The international community reels in the wake of the “double-tap” strike on Nasser Hospital. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu calls the targeting of five more journalists a “tragic mishap.” Reuters and the Associated Press formally write to Israeli officials demanding answers. A sixth journalist, veteran investigative reporter Hassan Douhan, was killed yesterday in a separate incident in his tent in Khan Younis. Palestinian prisoners recently released from the Sde Teiman torture camp bear witness to the horrors within its walls. U.S. President Donald Trump promises a “conclusive ending” to the Gaza genocide within three weeks. Trump threatens to send U.S. troops to Baltimore, after doing so in D.C. and Chicago. An army veteran is detained after burning a flag outside the White House, as President Trump vows in an executive order “to prosecute those who incite violence or otherwise violate our laws while desecrating this symbol of our country” amid other executive orders signed Monday. Additional U.S. warships are sent to the southern Caribbean in an increasingly militarized response to “anti-drug trafficking.” A loud advocate for U.S. spending on Israel’s military, Ritchie Torres secretly bought up stock in weapons manufacturing. The value of the U.S. dollar slips against its peers as Trump aims to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Argentina’s financial markets tumble under a corruption scandal. North-South Korea relations deteriorate in the wake of the visit of Lee Jae Myung to the United States.

New from Drop Site: Palestinian journalist and translator Heba Almaqadma reports from Gaza on the burden facing Gaza’s pregnant women in a time of genocide.

Interview: Ryan Grim talks with Gaza Civil Defense Spokesman Mahmoud Basal who details the heroic rescues and immense dangers facing first responders amid ongoing strikes.

Today at 10AM ET: Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill joins Yara Asi, Diana Buttu, and Mouin Rabbani for an Arab Center DC panel, “What Comes Next in Gaza?” moderated by Yousef Munayyer.

This is Drop Site Daily, our new, free daily news recap. We’ll be sending it Monday through Friday.

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US President Donald Trump signs Executive Orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday August 25, 2025 (Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images).

The Genocide in Gaza

• Seventy-five Palestinians were killed and 370 injured over the past 24 hours, according to the tally by the Gaza Health Ministry, including 17 killed and 122 injured while seeking aid. Three more have died due to starvation and malnutrition, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 303, including 117 children. The total death toll from Israeli aggression has risen to 62,819 martyrs and 158,629 injuries since October 7, 2023.

• Out of an expected 3,000 trucks, only 467 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip over the past five days, according to a new report issued by Gaza’s Government Media Office, adding that the trucks were looted amid Israel’s policy of "engineering starvation and chaos.” The 30-day statistical report stated that only 2,654 trucks, out of the intended 18,000, arrived over the past month, representing less than 15% of the actual needs in the enclave. “We remind you that the Gaza Strip requires more than 600 trucks of various types of aid daily to meet the minimum needs of 2.4 million people,” the report continues, and “we hold the occupation and its allies fully responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe.”

• Israel issued a new forced displacement order for northern Gaza’s Jabaliya residents, according to Hind Khoudary reporting from Deir el-Balah. Jabaliya is an area already emptied by Israeli airstrikes and military presence, and Israeli forces continue to press for displaced Palestinians to move further south. Many are moving west toward the coast because they cannot afford to evacuate, Khoudary reports.

• Reuters and the Associated Press have formally demanded answers from Israeli officials after airstrikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis killed five journalists, including contractors and freelancers working with the two outlets. In a joint letter, the news agencies condemned the strike on a protected civilian site, questioned the credibility of IDF investigations, and urged Israel to allow independent journalists access to Gaza while ensuring accountability and press protections under international law.

• The UN also calls for answers and justice after Israel’s attacks on Nasser Hospital.“The Israeli authorities have in the past announced investigations in such killings…but these investigations need to yield results,” UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva. “There needs to be justice. We haven’t seen results or accountability measures yet,” he added.

• In an interview with Ryan Grim, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal described the immense risks his crews face, noting that 138 workers have been killed during the genocide but that their mission is humanitarian before salaries or anything else, he said. He recounted rescuing 50 people under drone fire in Tel al-Hawa, stressing that, despite six months without pay, not a single member has abandoned their work.

• Watch: Krystal Ball debunks the Israeli claim that the UN fudged the metrics around declaring famine in Gaza. The notion that the Famine Review Committee manipulated its numbers originated with the Israeli X account, which said publicly that when it came to Somalia and Sudan, the IPC used a standard of 30 percent of malnourishment, whereas with Gaza, they used 15 percent, relying on a measurement known as MUAC, for “Mid-Upper Arm Circumference." To determine famine, as Krystal explains, officials prefer to take a detailed population survey of height and weight. When that’s not possible, measuring the depleting circumference of people’s arms is a substitute. Because the arm withers at a slower rate than the overall body, seeing a collapse of arm circumference is more alarming, which is why the threshold is set at 15 percent rather than 30 for that measurement. Her full breakdown is on Breaking Points.

• Moayad Naeem Al-Saksak, a child with cancer, died after being prevented from leaving Gaza for treatment, with his condition worsened by acute malnutrition and famine.

• Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill told Al Jazeera English that Israel is “systematically murdering the witnesses to its genocide,” including the five journalists killed at Nasser Hospital, calling it “a mass murder campaign being waged by a serial killer masquerading as a nation state.” He added that he has “never been more ashamed of our profession” as Western media continue to dehumanize Palestinians and justify the killing of their colleagues.

Ceasefire Negotiations and Israeli News

• Thirteen Palestinians were released Saturday from Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman torture camp, where detainees report having to endure beatings, “disco torture” that weaponizes loud music and creates sleep deprivation, and deliberate medical neglect. Survivors, including a tearful young boy, urged the world to “save the remaining detainees,” as human rights groups highlight 77 Palestinian deaths since October 2023 from systemic abuse and mistreatment.

• Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deadly strike on Nasser Hospital a “mishap,” expressing apparent regret, while Israeli soldiers told Channel 14 it was deliberate, approved, and coordinated with senior command. Golani Brigade troops claimed they targeted a “Hamas-operated” surveillance camera at the site, describing it as a “terror target,” contradicting the IDF spokesperson’s preliminary inquiry and public statements of regret.

• Ceasefire talks in Gaza have stalled as Trump promised a “conclusive ending” within weeks, claiming the genocide will soon be over. Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 13 reports Netanyahu has declined to respond to the latest Hamas-accepted ceasefire proposal, instead exploring the possibility of occupying Gaza and focusing on a “comprehensive” plan for all captives, sidelining the current U.S.-mediated framework. Read Jeremy Scahill’s reporting on the current framework here.

• Palestinian-Israeli lawmaker Ayman Odeh, frequently expelled from the Knesset for condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, slammed Netanyahu over the Nasser Hospital airstrike declaring: “You are a liar to the core of your soul.”

West Bank

• Israeli forces injured at least 24 people during their ongoing raid in central Ramallah and Al-Bireh in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency. Among those injured is a 71-year-old man hit by rubber bullets and a 12-year-old child shot in the back near the local market.

• The Jenin Camp Media Committee reports that after 217 days of continuous assault, Israeli forces have destroyed 70% of the camp, bulldozed over 650 buildings, and displaced nearly 22,000 residents. Infrastructure collapse, halted UNRWA services, and ongoing detentions by both Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces have left residents without medical care and under harsh conditions.

• The family of 16-year-old Palestinian American Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, who is being held without trial in an Israeli prison, says his lawyer is still negotiating with the prosecutor and social media pressure, along with demands from U.S. officials, remain their strongest leverage, as the court appears reluctant to act.

U.S. News

• On Sunday, Trump threatened to send the military into Baltimore to “quickly clean up” crime, citing the D.C. National Guard deployment as a precedent, while also warning he might pull federal funding for Maryland infrastructure projects like rebuilding the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. Maryland officials—including Governor Wes Moore, lawmakers, and local leaders—condemned Trump’s threats as illegal, politically motivated, and counterproductive, noting that Baltimore’s crime rates have already declined and emphasizing the need for collaboration rather than military overreach.

• Trump issued an executive order directing the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute individuals who burn the American flag. The order calls for one-year prison sentences and instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to challenge Supreme Court protections for flag burning as free speech.

• Trump is expanding the U.S. government’s involvement in private companies, following a nearly 10% stake acquisition in Intel, which his National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett called a “down payment” on a future sovereign wealth fund. Trump hailed the Intel deal on social media as a win for taxpayers, while Sen. Bernie Sanders said it’s reasonable for the government to benefit when companies receive generous federal grants.

• Congressman. Ritchie Torres urged Biden to speed shipments of bombs to Israel, voted for a $17 billion arms package, and secretly bought stock in defense contractors Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris—the companies supplying Israel’s arsenal. He filed the trades nearly a year late, far past the STOCK Act’s 45-day deadline, Sludge reports. Meanwhile, he opposed a ceasefire, joined Republicans to override Biden’s brief pause on 2,000-pound bombs, and voted to sanction the ICC after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

International News

• Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa confirmed “advanced” talks with Israel on a security agreement with Israel, reportedly based on the preexisting 1974 disengagement agreement between the two countries signed at the end of the Yom Kippur war. The details of the emerging agreement are disputed, with Israel’s Channel 12 reporting that it would include demilitarizing the Golan Heights, preventing Syrian military restoration, and establishing a humanitarian corridor in exchange for U.S. and Gulf support. Al Majalla and Syria’s SANA news agency have instead reported that the deal will focus strictly on deescalation and not include an imminent normalization of ties.

• The U.S. has dispatched additional warships, including the USS Lake Erie and USS Newport News, to the southern Caribbean as part of Trump’s increasingly militarized approach to Latin American drug cartels. The deployments, targeting groups like Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, further escalate U.S. military involvement in the region under the guise of border security.

• Brazil’s Supreme Court prepares for closing arguments in Jair Bolsonaro’s trial over an alleged coup plot, as the former president under house arrest shows signs of distress, self-doubt, and infighting within his far-right coalition. Private messages released by federal police depict Bolsonaro struggling to manage his allies, second-guessing himself, and weighing U.S. pressure from Trump—including tariffs and sanctions—while his supporters debate how to navigate the 2026 election without him on the ballot.

• North Korea condemned U.S.-South Korea joint military drills, claiming they demonstrate Washington’s intent to “occupy” the Korean Peninsula and threaten regional adversaries, warning of “unpleasant” consequences if the exercises continue. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung recently met with U.S. President Trump.

• In recent Istanbul talks with Iran, the E3 (France, UK, Germany) proposed a six-month extension of “snapback” sanctions, which Iran initially appeared to reject. Iranian leaders inTehran, however, are reportedly open to the extension if it is advanced through the UN Security Council, which could buy additional time for negotiations.

• Argentina’s financial markets tumbled Monday as corruption allegations tied to President Javier Milei’s inner circle rattled investors: sovereign bonds hit multi-month lows, the peso fell nearly 3%, and the stock benchmark dropped 4%. The scandal centers on audio recordings suggesting bribery at the disability agency, potentially implicating Milei’s sister and chief of staff, Karina Milei, while raising doubts about whether Milei’s government can maintain credibility for its economic reforms ahead of the October midterms.

• Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund has divested from Caterpillar and five Israeli banks, citing their roles in unlawful property destruction in Palestine and financing illegal West Bank settlements. The ethics council warned of an “unacceptable risk” of complicity in war crimes, with Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg calling the decision a balance between ethical responsibility and financial independence.

• Australia accused Iran of orchestrating a series of antisemitic attacks on its soil, including arson attacks against a synagogue and Jewish business. The Australian government denounced what it called “extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” stating that it would sever diplomatic ties with Tehran and expel its diplomats from the country. A spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry denied the allegations and stated that any diplomatic action against it would result in a “reciprocal reaction.”

More from Drop Site

• In Gaza, pregnant and nursing women are enduring unimaginable hardships as Israel’s military operations, famine, and medical deprivation devastate their lives, births, and children’s futures. Heba Almaqadma chronicles stories like those of Joud Zourab, Safaa Al-Amsi, and Khadija al-Laham, who face displacement, malnutrition, unsafe medical conditions, and extreme poverty, showing that motherhood in Gaza has become a struggle for survival rather than a time of care and joy.
  
  Read the article here.

• Israel indicated Monday it could scale back its presence in southern Lebanon in a phased manner if the Lebanese government moves to disarm Hezbollah. ICC fugitive Netanyahu said Israel is “ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah” and would consider a phased IDF pullout tied to Lebanese Armed Forces action, following a meeting with U.S. envoy Tom Barrack. Lebanon’s cabinet has tasked the LAF with drafting a plan to bring all weapons under state control by year’s end—a move Netanyahu called “momentous.” Hezbollah swiftly rejected the proposal, insisting withdrawal must precede any disarmament.
  
  WATCH this video by Jeremy Loffredo for Drop Site.

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