U.S. and Iran trade strikes for 5th day; 103 House Democrats vote to end Israel aid; Over 200 dead in Congo massacres

From Drop Site:

U.S. hits Iran with fifth day of renewed attacks. Iran responds, hitting U.S. bases in the Gulf. Iran calls Hormuz its “red line.” Pricey U.S. drone shot down. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi goes to Doha. WSJ: President Donald Trump favors expanding military operations against Iran. Israeli ceasefire violations continue across southern Lebanon. Israel reaffirms plans to maintain occupation in parts of Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria. Three Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday. Gaza government files complaint against UN official, says statement provided “pretext” for deadly Israeli strike. Israel approves $330 million to expand road network for West Bank settlements. Colombia’s incoming government to restore full ties with Israel, open embassy in Jerusalem. Amendment to cut State Department aid to Israel fails in U.S. House, but prominent Democrats back the cut. Groups sue Trump administration over ICC sanctions. Pentagon weighs Cuba military options as Iran war resumes. House GOP unveils budget to fund Iran war. Report finds widespread abuse allegations at Texas ICE facility. Venezuelan man becomes 22nd ICE detainee to die this year. Vice President JD Vance admits Trump administration mishandled Epstein files release. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejects DEA claim of cartel ties to Mexican government. U.S. imposes 25% tariffs on Brazil, exempts key exports. More than 500 feared dead after boats sink off Myanmar. Russian nuclear plant chief killed in drone strike. Recent militia massacres kill over 200 in Eastern Congo.

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• U.S. hits Iran with fifth day of renewed attacks: U.S. forces launched two waves of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, targeting Iranian military capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz, the country’s Central Command announced, with the earlier wave of strikes hitting Iran’s Tunb Island.

  • CENTCOM said the second wave targeted military installations in the south and on the Persian Gulf coast, including Bandar Abbas.

  • U.S. strikes hit Ahvaz in Iran’s South, according to Iran’s WANA. The U.S. launched multiple projectiles that landed in the vicinity of Shahid Baqaei Hospital, a hospital which specializes in the treatment of children with cancer.

  • The hospital’s director confirmed that 211 of its patients, including vulnerable children undergoing chemotherapy and those on ventilators, had to be urgently evacuated to nearby facilities like Golestan and Shafa hospitals. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei condemned the attack in a post on X, calling it “barbaric” and a “cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings.”

  • U.S. strikes also hit sites in the north, with one hitting a storage facility near Semnan and the city’s civilian airport, according to Al Jazeera.

  • Other strikes were reported in Khondab, Andimeshk, Qeshm, Sirik, Konarak, Rask, and Chabahar.

  • U.S. forces also fired missiles into the smokestack of a Curaçao-flagged oil tanker, the Belma, disabling it as it sailed toward Iran’s Kharg Island, Central Command said Wednesday, the first commercial ship the U.S. has struck since its blockade resumed.

  • CENTCOM also attempted to wave away the damage its strikes had already done to civilian infrastructure within the country, denying in a Thursday statement that it had targeted a civilian wheat storage facility in Hoveyzeh on Tuesday.

• Iran responds, hitting U.S. bases in the Gulf: Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks on U.S. military sites in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan early Thursday, hours after another round of American strikes on Iran.

  • In Kuwait, Iran reported hitting radar systems, a Patriot air-defense battery, and fuel storage at the Ali al-Salem Air Base, according to state broadcaster IRIB. Kuwaiti officials reported engaging “hostile” attacks with at least 4 cruise missiles and 21 drones intercepted.

  • Iran also said it struck U.S. facilities at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry sounded air-raid sirens Thursday morning and urged residents to head to the nearest safe place.

  • Jordan intercepted 8 Iranian missiles on Thursday, the state news agency Petra said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it fired two waves of ballistic missiles at U.S. air bases in Jordan, claiming they had been used to launch strikes on Iran, including the attack near a children’s cancer hospital.

  • Kuwait’s army also said its air defenses were intercepting another wave of “hostile drone attacks” on Thursday.

• Iran calls Hormuz its “red line,” vows devastating retaliation if U.S. hits infrastructure: Ibrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Joint Headquarters, said in a statement on Wednesday that “under no circumstances and in no way” would Iran permit America “to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz,” calling this Iran’s “unimpeachable red line.”

  • Zolfaghari added that Iran would pound the U.S.’ Gulf allies “with steel blows” until “no trace” remains “as if” these countries “never existed from the beginning,” should the U.S. carry out its threats against civilian infrastructure.

  • This follows comments by President Donald Trump threatening to strike Iran’s power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations. “Next week it gets really bad for them,” Trump told Fox News. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”

  • Trump later said Iran “better behave” and told a defence summit that Tehran “wants to settle so badly,” adding that Washington would decide whether to reach an agreement “or if we just finish it off.”

• Iran told Vance Witkoff, Kushner were “abusing” their inside access to negotiations: During U.S.-Iran talks in Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, in late June, Iranian negotiators sent a private message to Vice President JD Vance through an intermediary warning that President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were undermining efforts to turn the June 17 framework into a lasting agreement, a senior Iranian official told Drop Site.

  • According to the official, Iran accused the pair of exploiting insider knowledge of the negotiations for financial gain and raised concerns over leaks by Kushner to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

  • The official added that Iran requested a share of what it estimated were $9 billion in profits from alleged market manipulation. The White House denied the claims, with spokesperson Anna Kelly saying no such message had been transmitted “to the United States,” and accusing Drop Site of being “filled with hate for America.” Read the full story by Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim here. Watch Fox News discuss the story.

• Pricey U.S. drone shot down: Another US MQ-9 drone, costing between $30-40 million, was shot down on Thursday, Iran’s Fars news agency reported, in Iran’s southwest.

  • In mid-May 2026 briefings to the Senate Armed Services Committee, defense officials testified that the active fleet of MQ-9 drones had dwindled significantly, plummeting to roughly 135 operational units, down from a baseline of 189 aircraft.

  • The U.S. lost $1 billion worth of these drones in the first part of the war, according to their testimony.

• Araghchi goes to Doha: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Doha on Thursday to “meet Qatari officials and to express his condolences” to Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani following the death of Qatar’s former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, according to Araghchi’s official Telegram channel.

  • The visit may also be a sign that diplomatic channels remain open through Qatar, a key mediator in U.S.-Iran talks.

  • Pakistan, another key mediator, said Thursday it remains committed to the memorandum reached last month despite the collapse of the initial pause in hostilities. “While the implementation of the MOU is facing challenges,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said, “Pakistan will continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks.”

• WSJ: Trump favors expanding military operations against Iran: Trump is leaning toward expanding U.S. military operations against Iran after briefings from top aides, including options to seize Kharg Island and bomb the fortified Pickaxe Mountain site, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal.

• Israeli ceasefire violations continue across southern Lebanon: Israeli forces carried out a series of airstrikes and artillery attacks across southern Lebanon on Thursday, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

  • In the Nabatieh district, Israeli warplanes launched two airstrikes on the outskirts of the Al-Deir neighborhood in Nabatieh al-Fawqa at around 2 p.m., followed about 45 minutes later by a drone strike targeting the nearby Ali Al-Taher hill.

  • Israeli warplanes struck the outskirts of Baraachit and Beit Yahoun at dawn, while Israeli artillery shelled the town of Rshaf in the Tyre (Sour) district.

  • Israeli forces also set fire to several homes and areas of land on the outskirts of Beit Yahoun.

• Israel reaffirms plans to maintain occupation in parts of Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel remains committed to maintaining its military presence in occupied areas of Gaza, southern Lebanon, and Syria, reaffirming the policy during an overnight call with U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Jerusalem Post reported. Katz said Israeli forces would continue holding “security zones,” calling the strategy a key lesson from October 7. “We have never asked the U.S. to act in our place along our borders. We are committed to protecting the residents of Israel from every threat, and that is what we intend to do,” he said.

• Killed and wounded: Over the last 24 hours, four Palestinians were killed, one due to wounds sustained in earlier attacks, and 28 were injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

  • The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 73,250 killed, with 173,751 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,127 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 3,643, while 800 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.

• Three Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday: Three Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in separate Israeli attacks on Gaza City on Thursday morning, according to WAFA.

  • One person was killed and three others injured in Israeli artillery shelling in the Al-Zeitoun neighborhood.

  • In a separate airstrike, two Palestinians were killed and several others wounded after Israeli warplanes targeted the vicinity of Al-Sanafour Junction in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood.

• Gaza government files complaint against UN official, says statement provided “pretext” for deadly Israeli strike: Gaza’s caretaker government filed a formal complaint against UN Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov, charging that a July statement fueled incitement against Palestinian police and preceded a deadly Israeli strike that killed eight officers.

  • In a letter obtained by Drop Site, the government said Alakbarov’s July 12 statement mischaracterized a police operation targeting alleged smuggling within a World Food Programme distribution site in Jabalia, despite a “direct and continuous coordination” with the UN.

  • The complaint says Israeli forces struck a police post in Jabalia two days later, killing eight civil police officers, and argues that the UN statement “provided a pretext for incitement against government agencies and exposed their personnel to greater danger.”

  • Gaza’s caretaker government, which is administrating the Strip following the recent dissolution of the Hamas-led government, called on the UN official to issue a clarification and reaffirm its commitment to resolving such matters through existing coordination channels.

• Israel approves $330 million to expand road network for West Bank settlements: The Israeli government approved a budget late Wednesday allocating 1.075 billion shekels (about $330 million) over three years for road construction serving dozens of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, a proposal initially submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, WAFA reported.

  • Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described the plan as part of a “settlement revolution” in the occupied West Bank, saying the projects would support the long-term development of the settlements, according to the Times of Israel.

• Colombia’s incoming government to restore full ties with Israel, open embassy in Jerusalem: Colombia’s incoming government under President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella will fully restore economic and diplomatic relations with Israel immediately after taking office on Aug. 7, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Wednesday following talks in Washington with Colombia’s foreign minister-designate, Omar Bula. Under a new bilateral roadmap, Colombia plans to open an embassy in occupied Jerusalem and begin efforts to eliminate mutual tourist visa requirements, reversing the policies of outgoing President Gustavo Petro.

  • Petro severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024, charging the Israeli government was committing genocide in Gaza, and later ordered the opening of a Colombian embassy in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. He subsequently expelled the remaining Israeli diplomatic staff after Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud aid flotilla and abused participants, including Colombian activists.

By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at [email protected].

• Israel aid amendment fails, but House Democrats back cut: An amendment to eliminate $3.3 billion in Israel funding from a State Department spending bill failed 314-104 on Wednesday, but 103 Democrats voted to support it, more than half of those voting yes or no, with 98 against. Another ten voted present. Two years ago, just 37 Democrats voted to support a similar measure.

  • Texas progressive Rep. Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, whipped Democratic support for the measure, proposed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), writing in a letter to colleagues that the “American people are crying out for an end to U.S. tax dollars subsidizing Israel’s military.”

  • Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.), the House’s second-ranking Democrat, both voted in favor of the bill, with the former saying about her vote that there is “a real sense that the status quo cannot continue.” Pelosi and two other Democrats told colleagues privately on the floor that the Israeli treatment of Khanna in the West Bank played a role in their votes, according to a source familiar with the floor conversations. A Pelosi spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

  • Pelosi’s support is especially surprising: at an Israeli lobbying conference seven years ago, she argued that even “if the Capitol crumbled to the ground, the one thing that would remain is our commitment” to U.S. aid to Israel.

  • Rep. Pat Ryan (N.Y.), a more hawkish Democrat and an AIPAC ally in the past, also voted in favor of the bill and announced afterward that he would return his donations to AIPAC, calling donations to Israel “wrong on every level.”

  • Rep. Sarah Elfreth, who won her seat in Maryland in 2024 thanks to millions in support from AIPAC, voted present, condemning the Israeli government for dragging the U.S. into war with Iran. She was just one of several Democrats who broke with AIPAC despite getting millions in support from them.

  • Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), whose principled objection to Israeli policy has often been solitary during her time in the House, said she was “proud” of colleagues who voted to stop funding Israel’s genocide, urging people to remember the more than 73,000 Palestinians killed and millions made homeless. “Keep talking about Gaza. Never stop.”

  • AIPAC, in a statement, vowed to continue spending heavily to support members of Congress who back its agenda and oppose those who don’t.

  • Rep. Thomas Massie, in an interview this morning on Breaking Points, joined by his ally on the legislation, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), said that Republican leadership allowed the vote to reach the floor because they wanted to produce chaos in Democratic Party ranks. He also ruled out running in a special election to replace Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, if McConnell dies, saying that opposition from Trump and AIPAC is too steep a hill to climb. Massie and Khanna also teamed up to pass legislation releasing the Epstein files.

• Groups sue Trump administration over ICC sanctions Democracy for the Arab World Now and the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan arguing that Trump administration sanctions on the International Criminal Court violate the U.S. First Amendment, claiming that the State Department’s targeting of ICC officials inhibits Americans from Constitutionally protected political action, fearing that they will be exposed to the same fate if they try to work with the Court.

  • “The Trump administration is using the blunt instrument of economic sanctions not only to punish human rights defenders but to police the political expression of millions of Americans,” said Omar Shakir, executive director of DAWN.

  • The suit names President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as defendants.

• Pentagon weighs Cuba military options as Iran war resumes: U.S. military planners have examined options for possible action against Cuba, CBS News reported on Wednesday, including an Army-led air assault by the 101st Airborne Division.

  • Officials, who convened in late June to discuss the contingencies of such a mission (including its sequencing, logistical considerations, and other risks), said that action remains unlikely, given the shifting of resources towards the U.S.’s current war in Iran.

  • Two officials also relayed to the office that War Secretary Pete Hegseth has been a more aggressive proponent of action against Cuba, and that Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine has voiced reservations about such a policy, with the former reportedly responding to Trump’s dissatisfaction with being informed about the potential limits of military action.

• House GOP unveils budget to fund Iran war: House Republican leaders released a budget blueprint Wednesday that would use the reconciliation process to unlock up to $95 billion, including $73 billion for military operations in Iran and $12 billion for farmers.

  • Republicans have also attempted to attach the voting restrictions proposed under the SAVE Act, which Democrats have consistently voted down, to the bill.

  • Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) set a Thursday committee vote, though Democrats and some Republicans, including Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio), have raised objections that could complicate the bill’s path through reconciliation rules.

• Report finds widespread abuse allegations at Texas ICE facility: An 84-page report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union found that 64 of 71 detainees interviewed at Camp East Montana, a facility at Fort Bliss in El Paso, said they were beaten by guards or witnessed beatings, alongside accounts of denied medical care and filthy conditions.

  • In March, ICE removed the facility’s operator, who had won the right to build and manage the camp even though it had no experience running an ICE detention facility. The change came as 49 deficiencies at East Montana were documented in an internal ICE review.

• Venezuelan man becomes 22nd ICE detainee to die this year: Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, a 45-year-old Venezuelan man, died Monday of suspected cardiac arrest while being transferred between Georgia detention facilities, ICE said, marking the 22nd death in the agency’s custody this year, The Guardian reported.

  • Arenas-Silva, who was arrested last Thursday, was denied medication for an existing condition, according to his family.

• Vance admits administration mishandled Epstein files release: Vice President JD Vance told podcast host Joe Rogan in an interview released Wednesday that the Trump administration “screwed up the comms” on releasing files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying they should have been released from the start.

  • Vance said former Attorney General Pam Bondi “overstated” what the administration had after she said an alleged Epstein “client list” was on her desk, adding he didn’t believe the missteps were an attempt to hide anything.

  • Vance also noted Epstein’s “clear” connections to the “highest levels” of both American and Israeli intelligence services.

• Sheinbaum rejects DEA claim of cartel ties to Mexican government: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday said that recent remarks by DEA Administrator Terry Cole were “baseless and unfortunate.”

  • A day earlier, Cole called the Mexican government and drug cartel networks “one in the same,” Reuters reported, and called these ties the agency’s “number one priority.”

  • Sheinbaum said the DEA should instead focus on drug trafficking and money laundering within the United States, which Sheinbaum called the world’s largest market for illegal drugs.

• U.S. imposes 25% tariffs on Brazil, exempts key exports: The Trump administration announced late Wednesday 25% duties on many Brazilian imports following over 30 rounds of failed negotiations, Reuters reported.

  • Washington exempted beef, coffee, rare earths, energy products, and aircraft. The tariffs are set to take effect on July 22.

  • Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the move unjustified and said Brazil would pursue action through its Reciprocity Law and the World Trade Organization.

• More than 500 feared dead after boats sink off Myanmar: Two boats carrying more than 500 people, mostly Rohingya refugees, may have capsized off Myanmar’s Rakhine and Irrawaddy coasts in recent days, the UN’s refugee agency and International Organization for Migration said Thursday.

  • The vessels left Rakhine State in late June.

  • One lost contact shortly after departure, while the second, carrying about 280 people, is believed to have sunk off the Irrawaddy coast on July 8.

  • Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees died or went missing ​in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal last year, making the maritime route the world’s deadliest for refugees, according to the UN.

• Russian nuclear plant chief killed in drone strike: Alexander Yakovlev, the chief engineer at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and his driver were killed with his driver in a reported Ukrainian drone strike, the head of the Russian state nuclear corporation Rostatom said in a statement.

  • The statement described the incident as a terrorist attack, adding that Yakovlev’s killing was “an attack on the principle of nuclear facility safety.”

  • Yakovlev was responsible for overseeing technical and operational safety at Zaporizhzhia which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

  • ⁠Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency condemned the incident, stating that it “represents an unacceptable attack on the plant and its ​management, seriously threatening ​nuclear safety,” while not attributing blame for the attack.

• Protests in Kyiv after defense chief’s ouster: Hundreds of protestors gathered in Kyiv after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the country’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

  • Fedorov had been credited with helping modernize Ukraine’s drone capabilities and improving its battlefield performance during the conflict and his dismissal comes amid a broader shift in Zelenskyy’s cabinet.

  • Several Ukrainian senior officials and lawmakers resigned in protest over the decision, with deputy Air Force Commander Pavlo Yelizarov calling Fedorov’s removal “a great evil for the country’s defense capability” in a social media post announcing his resignation.

• Ousted CHP leader Özel says new party in preparation: Özgür Özel, the onetime leader of Turkey’s primary opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, said Wednesday that preparations are underway for a possible new political party, though any formal step would wait until legal proceedings over his ouster conclude.

• Recent militia massacres kill over 200 in Eastern Congo: More than 200 civilians were killed and hundreds more wounded, kidnapped, or forced into hiding between April and June across North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to rights group BADILIKA, with M23 and ADF fighters primarily responsible for the death toll.

  • The report also accuses other armed forces, including pro-government Wazalendo militias, of abductions, forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and widespread looting.

  • M23, which has received backing from Rwanda, has seized large parts of mineral-rich eastern Congo, a major source of coltan and cobalt used in phones and electric vehicles.

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