UAE exits OPEC; Israel extends Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya’s detention indefinitely; Senate to vote on resolution blocking military action against Cuba

Drop Site Daily: April 28, 2026

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Iran is “humiliating” the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. cannot “tolerate” Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian strikes on U.S. bases caused over $5 billion in damages, NBC reports. Bahrain jails 30, strips citizenship of 69 in Iran-related cases. UAE announces surprise exit from OPEC. Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells military Israel can strike anywhere in Lebanon under ceasefire terms. Israeli defense minister threatens to burn Lebanon. Two brothers killed weeks apart while gathering firewood in Gaza. Israeli forces coerce West Bank municipal official to resign after election win. Gaza’s emergency medical system is nearing collapse as Israeli blockade cuts off ambulance fuel and parts. MSF: Israel uses water as a weapon against Palestinians in Gaza. California man charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s WPR comes up for a vote in the House. Senate to vote on resolution blocking Trump from military action against Cuba. NYC Council Speaker to join Mayor Zohran Mamdani in calls for tax increase on hedge funds and law firms. Pakistan and Afghanistan trade accusations of cross-border attacks. China blocks Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus amid tech rivalry with U.S. U.S. sanctions drove 148% rise in Cuba’s infant mortality rate since 2018, report finds. Congo to deploy U.S.- and UAE-funded paramilitary mining force, starting in copper and cobalt heartland. Gunmen kidnap 23 children from Nigerian orphanage; 8 remain missing after partial rescue. Sudanese army drone strike on Zalingei displacement camp wounds 15. RSF holding over 2,400 detainees in dire conditions in el-Fasher, including 20 doctors, report finds.

From Drop Site: Drop Site reports on Gaza’s municipal elections. Exposing Canary Mission, and Israel’s “Ceasefire” War in Lebanon.

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Elderly people wait in line to receive a free meal at the Nazareth Baptist Church in the neighborhood of La Vibora, in Havana, on April 14, 2026. Photo by Adalberto Roque / AFP via Getty Images.

Iran and Ceasefire

• German Chancellor says Iran is “humiliating” the U.S: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz offered a blunt assessment on Monday of American strategy in the Iran conflict, saying Tehran’s leadership has humiliated Washington by drawing U.S. envoys to Islamabad and sending them home without results. “The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” he ‌said while speaking to students in the town of Marsberg. “An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards.” Merz said he sees no clear U.S. exit strategy and drew comparisons to past military failures in Afghanistan and Iraq, adding that had he foreseen the war’s trajectory, he would have urged President Donald Trump even more forcefully against it.

• Rubio says the U.S. cannot “tolerate” Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio attributed the collapse of weekend negotiations in Islamabad to a fundamental disagreement over the status of the Strait of Hormuz during an interview with Fox News, saying the waterway is “not open” and that the U.S. cannot “normalize, nor can we tolerate… a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it.” In a post on Truth Social Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Iran is in a “state of collapse” and has asked the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have denied reports that any talks were planned in Islamabad, and have continued to demand the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade on Iran’s ports prior to advancing to a second round of high-level talks.

• Iranian strikes on U.S. bases caused over $5 billion in damages, NBC reports: Iranian strikes on American military installations across the Middle East since February 28 caused far more extensive damage than the Pentagon publicly disclosed, with repair costs estimated to exceed $5 billion across more than 100 targets in at least seven countries, NBC News reported over the weekend. Among the most significant findings in the report: an Iranian F-5 fighter jet successfully penetrated advanced U.S. air defenses to strike Camp Buehring in Kuwait, a Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS surveillance aircraft was destroyed on the ground at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, and an AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar was destroyed in Jordan.

• Bahrain jails 30, strips citizenship of 69 in Iran-related cases: Bahrain has sentenced 30 people to prison terms in a mass trial over accusations of spying for Iran and supporting alleged Iranian-backed attacks, according to the Associated Press. The public prosecution said five defendants, including two Afghans, received life sentences after being convicted of spying for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, while 25 others were handed 10-year sentences for allegedly supporting what authorities described as “terrorist acts” in the country. The cases have drawn renewed scrutiny over Bahrain’s judicial practices, with human rights groups long criticizing closed-door trials and limited defense for defendants. Among those affected is freelance Bahraini photographer Sayed Baqer Al-Kamel, who was arrested on March 1, 2026, after a raid on his home by plainclothes officers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Bahrain also stripped 69 people of citizenship on Monday over alleged support for Iranian strikes. The individuals have not been publicly identified, and their whereabouts and detention status remain unclear.

• UAE announces surprise exit from OPEC: UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei stated Tuesday that Abu Dhabi is leaving both OPEC effective May 1, ending a membership that dates to 1967 and removing the group’s third-largest energy producer. In public comments, Mazrouei added that Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s de facto leader, was not consulted, and that the withdrawal, which will allow the UAE to set its own production targets without coordinating other members, was unilateral. The move follows months of UAE criticism that fellow Arab states have not done enough to protect it from Iranian attacks during the current war, and while the UAE lobbies the U.S. and Israel for more direct financial and military support. President Trump has repeatedly accused OPEC of inflating prices and tied continued US military support in the Gulf to lower oil costs.

Lebanon

• Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue

  • An Israeli drone strike targeted a motorcycle in the town of Majdal Zoun Tuesday, injuring two people, according to the state’s National News Agency while additional airstrikes hit the towns of al-Sultaniyya and Braashit. Artillery shelling was also reported in Bayt al-Sayyad in the Tyre district, alongside a drone strike on agricultural land between al-Burj al-Shamali and al-Housh. The Israeli military on Tuesday issued forced displacement orders to residents of a number of villages and towns south of the Litani River and north of the “Yellow Line” to evacuate immediately toward the Sidon area.

  • The Israeli army said two of its soldiers were wounded Tuesday after their forces were targeted by an explosive drone in southern Lebanon.

  • Lebanon’s Health Ministry said four people were killed and 51 wounded, including three children and six women, in Israeli attacks across the country Monday.

  • Israeli forces carried out a wave of strikes and artillery fire across southern Lebanon Monday evening, according to L’Orient Today, hitting towns across the Nabatieh, Bint Jbeil, and Tyre districts—including Yohmor al-Shaqif, Mayfadoun, Bint Jbeil, Zawtar Sharqieh, Hadatha, Braasheet, and Touline.

  • Israeli forces also carried out demolitions of homes between Yaroun and Bint Jbeil, and a building in Nabatieh Fawqa collapsed due to damage from an earlier strike.

• Netanyahu tells military Israel can strike anywhere in Lebanon under ceasefire terms: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told senior Israel Defense Forces commanders Monday that Israel retains full authority to conduct strikes anywhere in Lebanese territory under the current U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, including north of the Litani River deep inside the country. He defended Israel’s ongoing military operations in Lebanon despite Israel having committed itself to a ceasefire, saying, “There are still two main threats from Hezbollah: 122-mm rockets and drones. This requires a combination of operational and technological measures.”

• Israeli defense minister threatens to burn Lebanon: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a brazen ultimatum to United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Monday, warning that Lebanon faces total destruction if Hezbollah is not disarmed. “If the Lebanese government continues to shelter under the shadow of the Hezbollah terror organization, fire will burn the cedars of Lebanon,” Katz said.

Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel

• Casualty count: Over the last 24 hours, one Palestinian was killed and five were injured across Gaza. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,594 killed, with 172,404 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 818 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 2,301, while 762 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

• Two brothers killed weeks apart while gathering firewood in Gaza: A 9-year-old boy, Adel al-Najjar, was shot and killed by Israeli forces Tuesday while collecting firewood in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital via the Associated Press. He was about 400 meters (1,312 feet) from the “Yellow Line” separating Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza. His younger brother had reportedly been killed under similar circumstances in the same area just a month earlier. At least 226 children and 179 women have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the start of the so-called ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

• Israeli army chief warns of renewed fighting on all fronts: Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Monday that intense fighting could resume across all of Israel’s active fronts this year. “We remain ready and on alert for the possibility of a resumption of intense fighting on all these fronts—2026 could still be a year of fighting on each of them,” Zamir told army officers during a meeting. In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to say whether the Trump administration would support Israel resuming the war in Gaza, but said that “the entirety of this project only works if Hamas is demilitarized.” Hamas has consistently refused to discuss disarmament until Israel ceases its violations of the ceasefire and fulfills its Phase One obligations.

• Drop Site reports on Gaza’s municipal elections: Deir al-Balah became the first municipality in Gaza to hold local elections since 2005 on Saturday, with voters casting ballots across 12 centers—nine of them tents—after Israel blocked the entry of standard electoral supplies, forcing organizers to improvise with locally sourced materials. Turnout reached just 22.7%, with one analyst attributing the low participation to widespread fatalism over Israel’s continued control of Gaza’s crossings, electricity, water, and reconstruction access. The “Rise of Deir al-Balah” slate, considered close to Fatah, won six of 15 council seats. One voter described to Drop Site the importance of elections to the Strip. “The scene of the elections gives people hope that it is possible to stop this war and return life to what it was,” she said. Read Mohamed Suleiman’s full dispatch for Drop Site News here.

• Israeli forces coerce West Bank municipal official to resign after election win: Former mayor of Deir Samet, Atef al-Awawdeh, says Israeli forces forced him to resign from his newly won municipal council seat under threats of arrest or violence, according to an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Al-Awawdeh, from the Dura area southwest of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, said he was detained prior to his election victory and warned by an officer identifying himself as “Captain Zidan” that “if you do not withdraw from the elections, you will be arrested and your home will be destroyed…and it could go as far as killing you.” He recounted being detained again and subjected to abuse after his win, before he ultimately resigned. The officer cited al-Awawdeh’s personal background as a factor, saying his son—who was part of the resistance in Jenin and was killed in 2023—had previously targeted Israeli soldiers. Al-Awawdeh, however, suggested the move reflects broader Israeli interference in shaping local governance in the occupied West Bank, saying authorities seek to exclude certain figures from municipal councils.

• Palestinian Authority detainee hospitalized after alleged torture at Nablus prison: Moataz Ibrahim al-Baytawi, a political prisoner held for 15 months by Palestinian Authority security forces at al-Junaid Prison in Nablus in the occupied West Bank has been hospitalized after a sharp deterioration in his health amid allegations of torture, according to Palestine Online. His cousin said Moataz has been detained without criminal conviction, and had staged a hunger strike protesting his continued imprisonment and the PA’s refusal to implement a court order for his release. He was reportedly subjected to torture throughout his detention. The family is calling for an immediate independent investigation into conditions at al-Junaid Prison and demanding that he receive full medical care and protection from further abuse.

• Gaza’s emergency medical system is nearing collapse as Israeli blockade cuts off ambulance fuel and parts: Gaza’s emergency medical system is on the verge of total collapse due to a severe shortage of motor oil and spare parts after Israel classified the materials as dual-use goods subject to blockade, Ultra Palestine and the Gaza Center for Human Rights reported Monday. Paramedics in central Gaza are cannibalizing broken ambulances to keep others running, reducing the operational fleet from 10 vehicles to three and tripling response times from 30 minutes to two hours. One of the main generators at Nasser Medical Complex, Gaza’s last large hospital, has already shut down, threatening power to operating rooms, intensive care units, and neonatal wards. Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have targeted and destroyed or damaged 211 ambulances and 23 civil defense vehicles.

• Ben-Gvir directive left deaf Palestinian detainee without cochlear implant batteries; he was beaten when he failed to hear guards: Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has blocked families from depositing funds for medical equipment for Palestinian prisoners since October 7, 2023. The consequences of this policy are illustrated by the story of Adam Oweineh, a 24-year-old deaf detainee from the occupied West Bank village of Battir held in administrative detention without charge since January 2025. Oweineh had the batteries for his cochlear implant confiscated upon arrival and was beaten by guards when he failed to hear orders during a headcount. Guards then imposed collective punishment on his entire cell—withholding food, sheets, and mattresses for three days and deploying tear gas and dogs. Haaretz’s full report on Oweineh is available here.

• MSF: Israel uses water as a weapon against Palestinians in Gaza: Israel has used access to water as a weapon against Palestinians in Gaza, systematically depriving people of water in a campaign of collective punishment, according to a new report released by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The report documents how Israeli authorities’ repeated weaponization of water is part of a recurrent, systematic and cumulative pattern. “Israeli authorities know that without water life ends, yet they have deliberately and systematically obliterated water infrastructure in Gaza, whilst consistently blocking water-related supplies from entering,” Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency manager, said in a statement. “Palestinians have been injured and killed simply trying to access water,” San Filippo said. “This deprivation, combined with dire living conditions, extreme overcrowding, and a collapsed health system, create a perfect storm for the spread of diseases.”

• Gaza health ministry says 494 fetuses have died in the womb: Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 494 fetuses have died in the womb during the genocide. One such case is that of Islam al-Tanani, 41. She was four months pregnant with twins when an Israeli shell struck her family’s home in Beit Lahia on Friday afternoon, killing her and the twins. Her 14-year-old son Hamza was killed instantly, and five-year-old Naya survived only one hour in intensive care; her husband Khaled, 43, and daughter Shatha survived with shrapnel wounds. “The occupation destroyed our dreams, our children’s childhoods, and killed our wives,” Khaled said. “This is not a war. This is genocide.”

• Israel extends detention of Gaza hospital director Dr. Abu Safiya: Israeli authorities have extended the detention of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, without charge and without setting a time limit, as his health deteriorates in Israeli custody, the doctor’s family announced after a hearing on Tuesday. Dr. Abu Safiya has been denied access to a lawyer for more than two months since being transferred to Ketziot Prison in the Negev Desert. His family warns his health is seriously deteriorating due to physical violence inflicted on him, ongoing significant weight loss, and systematic medical neglect. Dr. Abu Safiya was arrested in December 2024 after refusing to evacuate Kamal Adwan Hospital despite repeated Israeli strikes on the facility.

U.S. News

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

• California man charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was formally charged Monday with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump. Allen allegedly breached a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington on Saturday, shooting and wounding a Secret Service agent before being arrested. Allen arrived in Washington on April 24, checked into the Washington Hilton, where the event was held, and ran through a magnetometer carrying a long gun; the agent, who was wearing a ballistic vest, fired five shots at Allen without hitting him.

• Rep. Gottheimer’s WPR comes up for a vote in the House: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), whose War Powers Resolution will come to the floor for a vote today, told Drop Site that he hasn’t spoken with Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), the lone Democratic defector on the last WPR but an initial co-sponsor on this resolution. With Golden’s “NO” vote, the last WPR failed 214-213, allowing President Trump to continue waging an unconstitutional war at the behest of the Israeli government without any congressional oversight. Gottheimer’s WPR was originally conceived of as a more conservative alternative to the resolution filed by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to end the war immediately pending congressional approval, instead granting the Trump administration a 30-day grace period from the day the bill was filed before having to come before Congress and explain its motives and objectives.

• Senate to vote on resolution blocking Trump from military action against Cuba: Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is forcing a Senate vote Tuesday on a war powers resolution that would bar President Donald Trump from launching military action against Cuba without congressional authorization and declare the current U.S. oil blockade an act of war—one of the first serious congressional challenges to Washington’s campaign of economic pressure on the island. The resolution, co-introduced by Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and backed by a coalition of more than 40 advocacy groups, comes as Cuba faces its worst humanitarian crisis in decades, with nationwide blackouts, fuel and food shortages, and a collapsing public health system that a 2025 Lancet study linked to sanctions disproportionately killing children under five. Read more about the measure from Aída Chávez at Capital & Empire, here.

• NYC Council Speaker to join Mamdani in calls for tax increase on hedge funds and law firms: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin are set to announce a call for a state-level tax increase on hedge funds and major law firms this morning, Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and THE CITY’s Katie Honan report. The hike, which would reverse a Cuomo-era tax cut, would increase state funding to the city through the state’s Aids and Initiatives for Municipalities program. It is expected to generate up to $1 billion in revenue if passed. Menin’s inclusion is notable: Menin had previously resisted calling for any tax increases and is a close ally of Governor Kathy Hochul.

• Ala Stanford pauses when asked about ICE: Pennsylvania congressional candidate Ala Stanford, whose platform includes a call to abolish ICE, froze up during a local television interview when asked about the issue. Stanford then unsuccessfully asked for the interview to be paused, and answered the question indirectly, saying that her position was that the power to enforce immigration law should reside not in the executive branch, but with Congress. Last week, we reported on Stanford’s AIPAC backing; that report is available here.

• Kid Rock joins Hegseth on helicopter joy ride: Kid Rock flew to Fort Belvoir this morning on his private jet “for a ride” on two Apache helicopters with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Hegseth confirmed Monday evening on X; Drop Site’s Ryan Grim broke the story hours earlier. “Apaches typically have 2 pilots, but they went up with one so the boys could each ride shotgun,” Grim reported. The incident follows a separate controversy last month in which two military Apache helicopters flew over Kid Rock’s home.

• CBS News removes London bureau chief following editorial clashes over Gaza and Iran coverage: CBS News has ousted London bureau chief Claire Day, a nearly 25-year network veteran, following tensions with editor-in-chief Bari Weiss over the network’s coverage of Iran and Gaza, the New York Post reports. Day had pushed back on editorial decisions made by Weiss, a self-described Zionist, and faced an internal investigation after a freelance cameraman accused her of running the bureau like a “Hamas cell”—an allegation the probe ultimately rejected. Her replacement, Shayndi Raice, a former Wall Street Journal Middle East correspondent based in Israel with no prior television or large-scale management experience, takes over on May 11.

• Supreme Court reinstates Republican-drawn Texas map as redistricting war expands to Florida: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a Texas congressional map expected to flip up to five Democratic-held House seats, with the court’s six conservative justices overruling a lower court finding that the map was likely racially discriminatory and unconstitutional. The ruling comes as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday proposed a separate redistricting map that would likely give Republicans 24 of the state’s 28 House seats—up from a current 20-8 majority—with a special legislative session called for Tuesday. Republicans in Virginia are also challenging in court a Democratic-backed redistricting plan approved by voters last week, which would leave four Republican seats in the state vulnerable.

Other International News

• Pakistan and Afghanistan trade accusations of cross-border attacks: Pakistan and Afghanistan accused each other Monday of launching fresh cross-border strikes, marking the most serious breach of a China-mediated ceasefire agreed during Eid al-Fitr in March. Taliban Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said Pakistani mortar and rocket fire wounded 45 people in Kunar province, striking homes and Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University in the provincial capital Asadabad and killing four; Pakistan’s Information Ministry dismissed the university attack as a “blatant lie” while its border forces described the South Waziristan incident—in which at least three civilians were injured—as the most serious clash since the ceasefire. The renewed violence is reportedly linked to the shooting of a child by Pakistani forces near the Afghan border city of Spin Boldak on Sunday, with the heaviest fighting between the two countries in years having erupted in February after Afghanistan launched operations along the Durand Line and Pakistan responded with airstrikes on Kabul.

• China blocks Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus amid tech rivalry with U.S.: China’s National Development and Reform Commission on Monday moved to annul Meta’s acquisition of Manus, a Singapore-based AI startup with Chinese roots, tightening Beijing’s scrutiny of U.S. acquisitions of domestic AI talent and intellectual property. Meta announced the deal in December, with the company saying there would be no continuing Chinese ownership of Manus and that it would shut down its China operations—a structure designed in part to navigate U.S. investment restrictions on Chinese AI firms. Meta said the transaction complied fully with applicable law and anticipated an appropriate resolution, while the White House said it would defend American technology from undue foreign interference. The move comes weeks before a planned mid-May summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

• U.S. sanctions drove 148% rise in Cuba’s infant mortality rate since 2018, report finds: Cuba’s infant mortality rate has nearly tripled over seven years—rising from 4 per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 9 in 2025—with U.S. sanctions serving as the primary cause, according to a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The report traces the surge to a dramatic tightening of sanctions beginning in 2017 and singles out the Trump administration’s current fuel blockade as the most damaging American unilateral measure imposed to date. Every comparable country in the region saw stable or declining infant mortality rates over the same period, making Cuba’s trajectory a stark outlier and the latest indicator of the humanitarian toll of U.S. economic pressure on the island.

• Congo to deploy U.S.- and UAE-funded paramilitary mining force, starting in copper and cobalt heartland: The Democratic Republic of Congo will establish a paramilitary unit to police its mines, funded by the United States and the United Arab Emirates, the country’s General Inspectorate of Mines announced Monday. The agency plans to invest $100 million and deploy up to 3,000 armed recruits by December in the southeastern Katanga region—the heart of Congo’s copper and cobalt production—with an eventual target of 20,000 mining guards nationwide by 2028, according to Bloomberg. Congo is the world’s largest cobalt producer and second-largest copper source, both critical to electric vehicle batteries and global supply chains; the U.S. and Congo signed a strategic economic partnership in December granting preferential mining access to American and allied companies. The agency declined to identify whether the U.S. and Emirati funds are private or government in origin.

• Gunmen kidnap 23 children from Nigerian orphanage; 8 remain missing after partial rescue: Gunmen raided an unregistered orphanage in Lokoja, the capital of Nigeria’s Kogi State, late Sunday, abducting at least 23 children and the wife of the facility’s proprietor, Kogi Information Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo announced Monday. Security forces rescued 15 of the children but eight remain missing, with intensive operations underway to locate them and apprehend the perpetrators. No group immediately claimed responsibility. Mass kidnappings for ransom have become common across Nigeria, particularly in rural areas with limited government presence, and the North Central Zone where Kogi is located has seen a series of violent raids on schools in recent months.

• ISIS-affiliated group kills 29 in attack on Nigerian village in Adamawa State: Armed men killed at least 29 people in a hours-long assault on Guyaku village in Nigeria’s Adamawa State, with a regional Islamic State affiliate claiming responsibility via Telegram, according to Reuters and the Associated Press. Adamawa Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri visited the community Monday and pledged to intensify security operations in coordination with military and vigilante groups.

• Iraq’s Shiite bloc nominates businessman Ali al-Zaidi as consensus prime minister candidate: Iraq’s Coordination Framework, the Shiite parliamentary alliance controlling roughly 185 of 329 seats, nominated businessman Ali al-Zaidi as its consensus prime minister candidate Monday, ending months of deadlock over the previous nominee, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki had faced significant opposition from the United States, other Shiite leaders, and some Sunni parties—with President Donald Trump threatening to withdraw American support for Iraq if Maliki took office. The new nominee leads Dijlah TV and Al-Janoob Islamic Bank, which was banned by Iraq’s Central Bank in 2024 for dollar transactions linked to money laundering and currency smuggling to Iran. Zaidi now faces the task of assembling a cabinet capable of winning the two-thirds parliamentary approval required to take office.

• Pirates hijack St. Kitts-flagged cargo vessel off Somalia, second seizure in a week: Pirates seized the cargo vessel Sward on Monday approximately 11 kilometers northeast of the Somali coastal town of Garacad, the second hijacking off Somalia in less than a week, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations and maritime security group Vanguard. Nine pirates boarded the ship, which was carrying cement from Suez to the Kenyan port of Mombasa with a 15-person crew of two Indian nationals and 13 Syrians, and were steering it toward the Somali coastline as of Monday. The Puntland Maritime Police Force said it was monitoring the situation. The attack comes as global maritime routes face compounding disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz blockage during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, with anti-piracy patrols having declined since 2023 as naval resources were redirected to counter Houthi threats in the Red Sea.

• Sudanese army drone strike on Zalingei displacement camp wounds 15: A drone strike attributed to the Sudanese army struck Square 4 of the Hamidiya displacement camp in Zalingei, Central Darfur, on Monday morning, wounding at least 15 displaced persons and destroying several homes, according to the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur. The strike is part of an intensified Sudanese Armed Forces aerial campaign across RSF-held Darfur states. Separately, a UNHCR truck delivering emergency shelter kits to Tawila, a city in western Darfur hosting more than 700,000 displaced people, was destroyed by a drone strike Friday, the UN refugee agency said Sunday.

• RSF holding over 2,400 detainees in dire conditions in el-Fasher, including 20 doctors, report finds: The Sudan Doctors Network reported Monday that the Rapid Support Forces are holding more than 2,400 people in dire conditions across multiple detention facilities in el-Fasher—including 20 doctors, 370 women, and 426 children confined in sites such as Shalla Prison, a children’s hospital, and cargo containers. The NGO said the RSF is committing severe violations inside the facilities, including killings during torture and interrogation, ethnically motivated killings, and field executions, with a cholera outbreak spreading since February amid malnutrition and a lack of clean water. El-Fasher fell to the RSF in late October, and UN-backed experts said in February that the paramilitary group’s campaign against non-Arab communities there bears the hallmarks of genocide.

• Ukraine-Israel dispute over stolen grain shipments escalates: Ukraine summoned Israel’s ambassador Tuesday after a second Russian-flagged vessel suspected of carrying thousands of tons of grain stolen from occupied Ukrainian territory docked at the Israeli port of Haifa. At least four suspected stolen-grain shipments have already been unloaded in Israel this year from Ukraine, according to reporting by Haaretz. In a public statement, President Zelenskyy said the imports violate Israel’s own laws, stating, “in any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability,” and that “Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying.” The European Union said that it is exploring sanctions targeting Tel Aviv, while the Israeli government has denied wrongdoing in the matter.

More from Drop Site: Drop Site’s Ryan Grim, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Maysa Mustafa are joined by Jacquline Sweet to discuss her investigation revealing the highest paid employees of the Israeli group running Canary Mission, the infamous pro-Israel doxxing site. And NYU journalism professor Mohamad Bazzi discusses Israel’s 50-year war on Lebanon. Watch the live stream here:

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