U.S. kills 11 in triple vessel strike; Mamdani to control pivotal NYC rent authority; "Voice of Hind Rajab" filmmaker rejects prize in Berlin

Drop Site Daily: February 18, 2026

As Ramadan begins, Israeli attacks continue across Gaza and Israel imposes restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa mosque. Mexico and the Vatican decline Trump peace board invitation; UN humanitarian official may not attend the first meeting on Thursday. Settler attacks, military raids and arrests across the West Bank. Palestinian child killed by unexploded Israeli ordnance in Jordan Valley. Chief Israeli ministers push for “emigration” and continued occupation in discussions of the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon. U.S. military kills 11 in triple vessel strike in Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani poised to have control over pivotal rent authority. U.S. sells over $1 billion in Venezuelan oil and projects expanded production. Palantir relocates headquarters to Miami. ICE facility in Texas accused of destroying children’s letters. Immigration judge ends removal case against Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi. House Democrats weigh censure vote against Rep. Randy Fine over anti-Muslim remarks. Justice Department antitrust chief ousted. DHS workers say Noem-ordered demolitions are exposing them to asbestos. Massive U.S. military buildup continues near Iran. RSF drone strike kills three civilians in North Kordofan. Israeli drone strike kills Lebanese man after threatening phone call. Taliban releases Pakistani soldiers after Saudi mediation. Niger and Algeria signal thaw with gas pipeline plans. U.S.-mediated Ukraine-Russia talks end their first day with no breakthrough. Peruvian Congress ousts interim President José Jerí after four months in office. Colombia resumes peace talks with Gulf Clan. U.S. official alleges China carried out covert nuclear test in 2020. Deadly militant attacks hit northwest Pakistan. Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania refuses to accept a prize in Berlin for “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”

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

A boat just before U.S. strike. Still from video posted by SOUTHCOM/X.

The Gaza Genocide, West Bank, and Israel

• Israeli attacks continue across Gaza: One Palestinian was shot and killed Wednesday by Israeli forces in the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, according to Al-Araby TV. Israeli tanks also targeted areas in eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, 12-year-old Youssef Rasem Asaliya was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Jabalia in northern Gaza, WAFA reports. The Israeli military admitted it carried out the strike, claiming it “eliminated a terrorist” who posed an imminent threat.

• Israel imposes restrictions at the onset of Islamic holy month: As the month of Ramadan begins, Israeli authorities are intensifying security measures across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, tightening control around Al-Aqsa mosque—Islam’s third-holiest site. Israeli police said thousands of officers would be deployed in and around Al-Aqsa day and night throughout Ramadan, while limiting access for Palestinian worshippers from the West Bank to just 10,000 permits and reportedly restricting entry to older age groups, according to The Times of Israel. Earlier on Wednesday, dozens of settlers entered the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque under Israeli military protection. Settlers’ incursions into the mosque are expected to be extended to up to five hours daily during Ramadan, According to WAFA.

• Mexico and the Vatican decline Trump peace board invitations: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum formally declined to join President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, citing the fact that a recognized Palestinian state would not be part of the body. “Given that we recognize Palestine as a state, it’s important that both states, Israel and Palestine, participate. It isn’t set up that way,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference. Mexico joins France, Germany, Spain, Greece, and New Zealand in declining. The Holy See also announced that it would not take part in the Board of Peace, according to an announcement from Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on Monday.

• United Nations relief chief will not show up to BoP meeting: United Nations humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher was invited to President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, Al Jazeera English reported, but said he could not attend due to a scheduling conflict. It remains unclear whether the United Nations will be represented at the first BOP meeting.

• Hamas spokesperson calls on “Board of Peace” to move beyond rhetoric: Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Hazem Qasem, called on the Board of Peace to go beyond mere statements at the upcoming meeting on Thursday. He urged the Board to “implement in practice the principles they have announced, and to take concrete action to secure a genuine cessation of the war on the Gaza Strip and halt Israel’s grave violations of the agreement,” noting Israel is continuing to kill civilians and demolish homes in violation of the agreement. Qasem called for pressure on Israel to allow the independent National Committee to enter Gaza to administer the Strip, oversee humanitarian relief, and begin reconstruction with adequate support, as well as for a “genuine reopening” of the Rafah crossing.

• Dozens of states and organizations condemn Israeli actions in the West Bank: More than 85 countries, alongside the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the European Union, issued a joint statement on Monday denouncing what they called illegal moves by Israel in the occupied West Bank. The statement rejected the prospect of annexation and settlement expansion, warned against demographic engineering and displacement, and reaffirmed support for a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.

• Settler attacks, military raids and arrests across the West Bank: Israeli forces carried out multiple overnight raids across the West Bank on Tuesday, according to WAFA. In Hebron, forces detained 14 Palestinians, erected several military checkpoints and demolished a three-story residential building that housed more than 40 Palestinians. In separate incidents, two young men were shot and injured by Israeli forces in Jerusalem and Hebron. Additionally, two Palestinians were injured in settler attacks north of Ramallah.

• Palestinian child killed by unexploded Israeli ordnance in Jordan Valley: A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed Tuesday and two other children were wounded when unexploded Israeli military ammunition detonated in the Jordan Valley. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society told Anadolu Agency that it received the boy’s body from Israeli soldiers, which it transferred to a hospital in Jericho. The Israeli military claimed the youths were handling explosives in what it described as a “designated firing zone” and that an investigation is underway.

• Chief Israeli ministers push for “emigration” and continued occupation in the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon: In light of the “state property” measure moved forward by Israel’s cabinet over the weekend, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for applying Israeli “sovereignty” over the West Bank, dismantling the Oslo framework, blocking a future Palestinian state, and promoting Palestinian “emigration” from both the West Bank and Gaza. Striking a similar tone, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces will not withdraw “one millimeter” from Gaza’s “Yellow Line” unless Hamas fully disarms and threatened a return to full-scale war within 60 days. On Lebanon, Katz said Israeli troops will remain at five strategic points in southern Lebanon—which, he said, were “not part of the ceasefire agreement, but we imposed it”—until Hezbollah is completely disarmed.

U.S. News

• U.S. military kills 11 in triple vessel strike: The U.S. military conducted strikes on three boats in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean on Monday night, killing 11 people, according to U.S. Southern Command. SOUTHCOM posted video of the strikes and claimed without evidence they were engaged in narco-trafficking. It continued, “Eleven male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions, 4 on the first vessel in the Eastern Pacific, 4 on the second vessel in the Eastern Pacific, and 3 on the third vessel in the Caribbean.” The Trump administration’s targeting of vessels has killed at least 145 people in dozens of strikes on boats in the Pacific and Caribbean since September.

• Mamdani poised to control rent authority: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to control a majority of appointments to the Rent Guidelines Board after member Alex Armlovich resigned Tuesday, The City reports, bringing him closer to delivering on his signature campaign promise of a rent freeze for more than one million rent-stabilized apartments across the city. Armlovich is the third member to depart from the board this month, meaning that Mamdani has the ability to appoint six new people to the board. If the board approves a rent freeze this spring, prices would stay put for roughly one-third of all rental apartments in New York City.

• U.S. sells over $1 billion in Venezuelan oil and projects expanded production: U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News that the United States has sold more than $1 billion worth of Venezuelan crude since the removal of President Nicolás Maduro in January, with short-term agreements expected to generate an additional $5 billion in sales in the coming months. Much of the oil is slated to be processed in American refineries, though the profits are supposed to be returned to Venezuela’s interim government. Wright estimated that annual revenues could exceed $10 billion if production and exports stabilize, projecting that Venezuela’s output—currently around 1 million barrels per day—could rise 30–40 percent within a year and quintuple over five years.

• Palantir relocates headquarters to Miami: Palantir Technologies announced Tuesday that it has officially moved its headquarters to Miami from Denver, marking its second relocation since leaving Palo Alto in 2020. Palantir CEO Alex Karp has announced his intention to scale the company’s revenue tenfold while shrinking its number of employees by relying more on artificial intelligence. The firm’s expanding contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement—including a new five-year, $1 billion deal—have raised civil liberties concerns, as the firm expands its large-scale data aggregation capacities, surveillance operations, and facilitation of deportations.

• ICE facility in Texas accused of destroying children’s letters: Staff at an ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas have begun raiding family dormitories to confiscate and destroy letters written by detained children, Pablo Manríquez of Migrant Insider reported on Tuesday. The actions followed investigative reporting by ProPublica journalist Mica Rosenberg and colleagues on conditions inside the facility.

• Immigration judge ends removal case against Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi: An immigration judge has terminated removal proceedings against Mohsen Mahdawi, attorneys for Mahdawi announced on Tuesday, halting the Trump administration’s effort to deport the Columbia University student and lawful permanent resident. Mahdawi was arrested by federal immigration authorities in April of last year and spent 16 days in ICE detention. “Nearly a year ago, I was detained at my citizenship interview not for breaking the law but for speaking against the genocide of Palestinians,” Mahdawi said. “In a climate where dissent is increasingly met with intimidation and detention, today’s ruling renews hope that due process still applies and that no agency stands above the Constitution.”

• House Democrats weigh censure vote against Rep. Randy Fine over anti-Muslim remarks: House Democrats are discussing forcing a vote to censure Rep. Randy Fine (R-Florida) if Speaker Mike Johnson does not take action against him, Axios reports, after Fine posted that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said the idea has circulated internally, with Representative Ro Khanna calling for formal censure. “I usually hate censure resolutions against members, but I’ve never seen someone deserve one more,” Mark Pocan said.

• Justice Department antitrust chief ousted: The Justice Department’s antitrust division head, Gail Slater, exited last week amid reported tensions with Attorney General Pam Bondi over how aggressively to pursue corporate enforcement. Her departure raises questions about how the DOJ will proceed with existing antitrust cases, including prominent cases involving Live Nation, Visa, and Apple. Her departure follows earlier firings of senior deputies, who warned that antitrust outcomes were being decided not by the merits of their respective cases, but by the interventions of politically connected lobbyists. Read more about the implosion of antitrust enforcement at the DOJ from our friends at The Lever, here.

• DHS workers say Noem-ordered demolitions are exposing them to asbestos: Employees at the Department of Homeland Security say demolition work ordered by Secretary Kristi Noem at the St. Elizabeths West Campus in Washington has left them breathing asbestos dust without protective equipment, warnings, or clear communication about the risks of exposure. Staff described abatement crews in full protective gear working just yards away while DHS employees continued their normal operations. Read the exclusive report on DHS demolition discontent from our friends at Migrant Insider, here.

International News

• Massive U.S. military buildup continues near Iran: Dozens of fighter jets and other aircraft continued transiting towards the Middle East along with an expected deployment of a near aircraft carrier strike group. A report by Axios citing U.S. sources suggested that although negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program are still in progress, a large-scale conflict could “begin very soon.”

• Civilians describe starvation and constant attacks during sieges in South Kordofan: Residents who fled Kadugli and Dilling told the investigative outlet Ayin Network that during months of siege and shelling, “civilians were always the victims.” They described hospitals emptied of staff, salaries rendered worthless, and families subsisting on wild plants. Although the army partially broke the sieges on both cities in late January, residents say drone attacks continue in the region and that minimal humanitarian aid is reaching civilians. Separately, a drone strike carried out by the RSF hit the town of Alrahad Abu Dakna in North Kordofan, killing at least three civilians and injuring others.

• Israeli drone strike kills Lebanese man after threatening phone call: A man identifying himself as a member of the Israeli military called 62-year-old Ahmad Tarmas in the town of Tallousa near the Israeli border on Monday, asking whether he wished to die alone or with his family, according to journalist Radwan Mortada, to which Tarmas responded “alone.” Tarmas then drove away so the strike would not hit his home in Nabatieh—moments later, an Israeli drone fired two missiles at his car, killing him. Mortada reported that similar “death call” assassinations have occurred across southern Lebanon, with victims warned by phone shortly before being struck by the Israeli army.

• Taliban releases Pakistani soldiers after Saudi mediation: On Tuesday, Afghanistan’s Taliban government said that it had released three Pakistani soldiers seized during deadly border clashes in October, according to Reuters. The Taliban claims it handed over the captives to a delegation from Saudi Arabia in Kabul as part of mediation efforts between the countries. Relations between the states remain strained following months of border closures, cross-border attacks, and accusations from Islamabad that Kabul shelters Islamist militants.

• Niger and Algeria signal thaw with gas pipeline plans: Niger’s junta leader Abdourahamane Tiani said Monday that a “new dynamic” had begun with Algeria after talks in Algiers with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and announced plans to move ahead with a long-stalled gas pipeline crossing Nigerien territory, according to reporting from The New Arab. The rapprochement follows nearly a year of strained relations after Algeria shot down a drone operated by Mali—a close ally of Niger—which prompted a group of allied Sahel states to recall their ambassadors. Tebboune said the tensions between Niger and Algeria have ended and that construction will begin after Ramadan, though other tensions with Mali within the Sahel bloc remain unresolved.

• U.S.-mediated Ukraine-Russia talks end first day with no breakthrough: Ukrainian and Russian negotiators concluded the first day of peace talks in Geneva with no sign of progress toward ending the war, France 24 reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to move toward an agreement but questioned Moscow’s seriousness (”What do they want?”). Zelenskyy has also maintained that the U.S., which is mediating the talks, has been pressuring his state to make an inordinate number of sacrifices relative to its adversary, which is seeking major territorial gains from the process. Negotiations are set to resume Wednesday.

• Peruvian Congress ousts interim President José Jerí after four months in office: Peru’s Congress voted 75–24 (with three abstentions) on February 17 to remove interim President José Jerí, ending his brief time as president. Jerí has been plagued with allegations of impropriety, tied to undisclosed clandestine meetings with Chinese businessmen—a controversy dubbed “Chifagate.” A new interim president will be chosen by Congress to serve until the elected president is inaugurated later this year; this is the ninth change in leadership in less than 10 years.

• Colombia resumes peace talks with Gulf Clan: Colombia said on Tuesday it will restart negotiations with the powerful armed group known as the Gulf Clan, also called the Gaitanist Self-Defence Forces, Al Jazeera reports. The group had paused talks earlier this month following a meeting between President Gustavo Petro and President Donald Trump, during which Petro agreed to prioritize the capture of major cartel leaders. In a joint statement, the government and the group said hurdles to negotiation had been overcome, and that talks would be mediated by the Catholic Church, Qatar, Spain, Norway, and Switzerland.

• U.S. official alleges China carried out covert nuclear test in 2020: A senior U.S. official told Reuters that seismic data points to an underground nuclear test allegedly conducted by China in June 2020 at the Lop Nor test site in Xinjiang. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw pointed to a magnitude 2.75 “explosion” detected by a monitoring station in Kazakhstan and argued it was most consistent with a nuclear blast, rather than mining activity or an earthquake. The CTBO said there was insufficient data to confirm the claim, however, and China’s embassy in Washington rejected the allegation as unfounded and politically motivated.

• Deadly militant attacks hit northwest Pakistan: At least 14 security personnel and three civilians, including a child, were killed Monday in bombings and a gunfight across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, AFP reports. One vehicle carrying explosives struck a checkpoint in Bajaur, while another blast hit a police station in Bannu, and separate clashes killed officers and militants in Shangla. The state police force said in their statement that they killed a dozen militants involved in the attacks, three of whom had been involved in “attacks targeting Chinese nationals.”

• Burglary charges dropped against 18 defendants in Palestine Action case; retrial for six others: Eighteen defendants accused of involvement in a 2024 Palestine Action raid on a factory in the UK owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems will no longer face charges of aggravated burglary, prosecutors announced on Wednesday. Five of the defendants were granted bail at a hearing following the verdict. The decision comes two weeks after six other defendants in the case were acquitted of the same charge by a jury. However, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said those six will face a retrial on all charges which had not ended in verdicts, including criminal damage and violent disorder. The other eighteen defendants also continue to face other charges in connection with the raid.

• Film workers accuse Berlinale of being silent on Gaza and censoring dissent: More than 80 film workers signed an open letter accusing the Berlin International Film Festival of “institutional silence on the genocide of Palestinians” and of censoring artists critical of Israel’s actions. Signatories include Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Mike Leigh, Adam McKay, Nan Goldin, and Tatiana Maslany.

• Tunisian filmmaker refuses to accept award in Berlin: Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania refused to accept the Cinema for Peace gala’s “most valuable film” prize during a ceremony in Berlin on Monday night for her feature film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” The film, which is nominated for an Oscar, is a dramatic retelling of Israel’s killing of six-year-old Palestinian child Hind Rajab and her family in January 2024. “What happened to Hind is not an exception. It’s a part of a genocide. And tonight, in Berlin, there are people who gave political cover to that genocide by reframing the mass civilian killing as self-defense, as complex circumstances. By denigrating those who protest,” Ben Hania said. “But as you may know, peace is not a perfume sprayed over violence, so power can feel refined, and can feel comfortable. And cinema is not image-laundering.” She continued, “The Israeli army killed Hind Rajab; killed her family; killed the two paramedics who came to save her, with the complicity of the world’s most powerful governments and institutions…I refuse to let their deaths become a backdrop for a polite speech about peace. Not while the structures that enabled them remain untouched. So tonight, I will not take this award home. I leave it here as a reminder. And when peace is pursued as a legal and moral obligation, rooted in accountability for genocide, then I will come back and accept it with joy.” The annual gala also honored Noam Tibon, a former Israeli general featured in the Canadian documentary The Road Between Us, which chronicles Tibon’s rescue of his family following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

More from Drop Site

In case you missed it, highlights from Tuesday’s Drop Site livestream:

• Religious liberty commissioner says White House pressured her to resign over her Gaza posts: Carrie Prejean Boller joined the livestream to discuss her resignation from the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission, which she said was a product of pressure from federal officials. The campaign for her removal began in August 2025 after she reposted statements by Pope Francis on Gaza and described Israel’s actions as genocide, she says. Prejean Boller said she was told by an official that the White House was monitoring her social media and labeling her posts “anti-Semitic.”

• Palestine Action co-founder discusses her group’s direct action strategy: “As a Palestinian, the best moment of my life was being on top of an Israeli weapons factory with a sledgehammer being able to destroy that site,” Huda Ammori, the 31-year-old co-founder of Palestine Action, told the livestream. “And knowing, that just that by being there and causing damage, they would have to shut down. Not just while I was there, but for weeks after.”

Upcoming event:

• Drop Site’s publisher, Dr. Nika Soon-Shiong, will speak at the Palestine Digital Activism Forum 2026 on March 30, joining journalists and media leaders for a session on “Resisting Dehumanization: The Fight for Visibility in Traditional Media and the Digital Space.” The event will be available to watch online. Register here.

Programming note: You can sign up here to get updates from us on our WhatsApp channel.

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