Egypt shuts down Mada Masr, convicts editor; Israelis vote as UN panel concludes genocide is ongoing; U.S. demands AI execs’ testimony

An armed Israeli man waits with others to cross an intersection near an electoral campaign billboard for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party in Jerusalem on October 20, 2026. Photo by Jewel Samad / AFP via Getty Images. Tuesday, October 27, 2026 – Iran: Iran hails emerging regional order without foreign intervention after Tehran meeting. Oman says excluding Iran from Gulf security has been a fundamental mistake. Iran says oil tanker caught fire after striking naval mines east of Hormuz.

UK charges two British men in Iran-linked investigation at U.S. bomber base. Palestine: Six-year-old girl dies of wounds from Israeli gunfire in Khan Younis. Israel bars delegates from Birzeit University conference as settlers attack olive harvesters across the occupied West Bank. UN commission finds Israel continuing genocide in Gaza despite ceasefire, committing crimes against humanity in West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud prepares election fraud claims as paid teams monitor Palestinian voters.

Yemen: Ansarallah says Egypt’s pledge of military support for Saudi amounts to a “declaration of war.” Ansarallah claims strike on Saudi oil refinery, military aircraft. Lebanon: Israel shells towns across southern Lebanon despite ceasefire. U.S.: FTC orders Anthropic executives to testify in consumer-harm probe. DOJ charges former FBI director James Comey with leaking information. Court rejects DOJ attempt to cast doubt on 20,000 California ballots.

AP: ICE detained mentally ill man for almost a year despite records showing he was born in the U.S. International: Right-wing presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro effectively concedes defeat in Brazil, lacking U.S. intervention and fearing prosecution. Egyptian court orders closure of leading news outlet Mada Masr, detains editor. Drone strike in RSF-held territory kills at least 21, injures 40; western nations warn of famine. Congo exceeds 10,000 Ebola cases. 89,000+ people evacuated in eastern India ahead of Cyclone Arnab.

Attacks in Ethiopia kill at least 60 Orthodox Christians. Jordan strikes Syria in response to Karak church attack, killing at least seven. Romania accuses Russia-backed actors of sabotaging weapons factory. Colombia to withdraw from Hague Group coalition over stance on Israel. This is Drop Site Daily, our free news recap We send it Monday – Friday Subscribe Iran Iran hails emerging regional order without foreign intervention after Tehran meeting: Top officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey met Iranian leaders in Tehran on Monday for talks on regional security and escalating tensions, with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei declaring that “a new atmosphere is emerging in the region.”

Rezaei said the sides held “very good” talks and agreed that West Asia’s security should be managed by regional states, without foreign intervention. The “results of the Iranian nation’s resistance” are becoming more tangible “day by day,” he said. The four countries said they would “continue the dialogue,” and officials called it the first in an expected series of meetings, though no date has been set. Oman says excluding Iran from Gulf security has been a fundamental mistake: Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi criticized decades of Gulf security arrangements built around excluding Iran and relying on foreign military powers, calling for a new regional security framework that includes Tehran.

“Perhaps the most damaging of the priorities imposed on the region from the outside has been the requirement that Iran be excluded,” he said during a lecture at Cambridge University. This, he said, created an unstable system based on the “entirely false perception” of fundamental antagonism between Iran and Arab Gulf states. “There is no such fundamental antagonism,” he said, adding that any security architecture excluding Iran is “inherently unstable” and “structurally unsound.”

He also said that Oman and Iran had developed the outline of a temporary arrangement to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but said implementation would require compromises by both Tehran and Washington. He maintained that a U.S.–Iran nuclear agreement had been within reach before the U.S.-Israeli war began on February 28, an assessment Oman continues to stand by. Iran says oil tanker caught fire after striking naval mines east of Hormuz: An oil tanker caught fire after striking naval mines east of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s navy said Tuesday.

The vessel had entered a prohibited area with its tracking systems switched off, according to Iranian state media. Separately, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority announced that all vessels belonging to South Korean shipping company Sinokor will face legal action beginning November 1, accusing the company of repeatedly violating passage regulations in the Strait. The authority, established by Tehran to manage vessel transit requests through the waterway, said Sinokor had recorded the highest number of crossing violations over the past three months and that “appropriate actions” had already been taken against at least seven of its vessels.

UK charges two British men in Iran-linked investigation at U.S. bomber base: Two British nationals were charged under the UK’s National Security Act following an investigation into a September security incident at RAF Fairford, a British airbase used by U.S. bombers. One man is charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, while another is charged with entering a prohibited site for a purpose prejudicial to the UK. RAF Fairford has been used by the U.S. to deploy bombers to the Middle East, including after Britain authorized its use for strikes against Iran.

The U.S. withdrew its bombers following the incident. British counterterrorism police said they believe several recent incidents were directed by the Iranian state. Iran has denied involvement. Palestine Six-year-old girl dies of wounds from Israeli gunfire in Khan Younis: A six-year-old Palestinian girl died Tuesday morning from wounds sustained after being shot by Israeli forces in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, WAFA reported.

Over the past 24 hours, six Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks and 32 injured across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023, is now 74,561 killed, with 175,759 injured. Since October 11, 2025, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,565 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 5,640, while 845 bodies have been recovered. Israel bars delegates from Birzeit University conference as settlers attack olive harvesters across the occupied West Bank: Hebron: Israeli forces continued their siege of the Al-Jalda and Deir Baha neighborhoods for a fifth consecutive day, raiding and damaging homes, restricting movement, and obstructing aid deliveries.

Since Friday, 619 families have been affected, approximately 3,971 Palestinians forcibly displaced, and 85 arrested. Israeli forces also dispersed a protest against the siege with tear gas, causing several people to suffer from tear gas inhalation, and stormed al-Ahli Hospital, firing tear gas at its entrance and courtyard and seizing vehicles from its parking lot. Ramallah and Al-Bireh: Israeli settlers, protected by Israeli forces, attacked Palestinian olive harvesters and foreign solidarity activists in Beit Ur Al-Tahta, beating them and firing tear gas and live ammunition.

In Deir Jarir, two Palestinians were injured in a settler attack. Settlers also established a new outpost with two mobile homes north of Al-Bireh. Nablus: A Palestinian man was shot in the foot near the Huwwara military checkpoint, where Israeli forces obstructed Palestinian Red Crescent medics from reaching him. In Burqa, settlers beat a 50-year-old Palestinian man, leaving him with injuries requiring hospitalization. Settlers also detained a Nablus municipal crew repairing a road and seized its equipment.

Tulkarm: Israeli forces forcibly evacuated two Palestinian families from their homes in Faroun, converting both houses into military barracks and ordering the families not to return until Wednesday morning. Jericho: Israeli authorities detained, questioned, and denied entry to a 23-member international delegation through the Karama crossing, preventing them from attending a Birzeit University conference on Global South solidarity and resistance to imperialism.

UN commission finds Israel continuing genocide in Gaza despite ceasefire, committing crimes against humanity in West Bank: Israel continues to commit genocidal acts in Gaza even after the “so-called ceasefire agreement,” with the intent to destroy Palestinians “in whole or in part,” according to a new report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry. The commission also found that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including extermination, persecution, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence, across the occupied Palestinian territory.

In Gaza, Israeli authorities and forces continue to intentionally kill and inflict serious bodily and mental harm on Palestinians despite the October 2025 ceasefire. Israel’s expanding territorial control also continues to endanger Palestinians approaching or crossing the Yellow Line. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli military operations and settler violence form part of a widespread, systematic and coordinated attack on Palestinians, the report said.

Israeli military operations since January 2025 caused the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967, with 34,176 still displaced as of August 2026. Israeli forces also deliberately killed and injured Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank, the report found. Netanyahu’s Likud prepares election fraud claims as paid teams monitor Palestinian voters: Israel’s ruling Likud party deployed paid teams outside polling stations in Palestinian towns inside Israel to collect footage and testimony that could be used to challenge the results of Tuesday’s Knesset election if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc appears headed for defeat, according to a report published by Haaretz.

The operation, estimated to cost millions of shekels, operates separately from official election monitors and is reportedly approaching coverage of nearly every polling station in Palestinian communities. Information gathered by the teams will be sent to a dedicated “election fraud operations room,” while party officials have discussed launching a campaign claiming the election was “stolen” or “rigged” if Netanyahu loses. Netanyahu called on Likud supporters to turn out in force on Tuesday.

“The future of our Jewish state is at stake: a strong right-wing government or a left-wing government supported by the Arab parties,” he wrote in a post on X. Yemen Ansarallah says Egypt’s pledge of military support for Saudi amounts to a “declaration of war”: Yemen’s Ansarallah movement said Egypt’s decision to authorize defensive military support for Saudi Arabia against Ansarallah attacks amounts to a “declaration of war” on Yemen, according to AFP.

“It is truly remarkable that while these parties are supposedly pursuing peace in the region, Egypt and its parliament announce their support for what they call the defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Mohammed Al-Houthi, a member of Ansarallah’s Supreme Political Council. “In doing so, Egypt is declaring war on the Republic of Yemen.” Ansarallah claims strike on Saudi oil refinery, military aircraft: Ansarallah’s armed forces said they struck Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery in the Eastern Province with a ballistic missile, claiming a direct hit that caused massive fires at the facility.

The group also claimed to have targeted two military transport aircraft with ballistic missiles, one at Najran Airport and another at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, saying both strikes successfully hit their targets. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by Ansarallah toward Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Separately, Ansarallah claimed its forces repelled an attempted advance by Saudi-backed forces from the southern direction of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The group said it targeted troop concentrations with ballistic missiles and heavy weapons, killing and wounding large numbers of fighters and destroying several military vehicles. Lebanon Israel shells towns across southern Lebanon despite ceasefire: Hasbaya: Israeli forces fired four artillery shells into Wadi Shebaa on Tuesday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported. Marjeyoun: Forces carried out a demolition near the cemetery in Khiam, accompanied by heavy machine-gun fire.

Tyre (Sour): Israeli forces shelled the towns of Mansouri and Majdal Zoun. U.S. News FTC orders Anthropic executives to testify in consumer-harm probe: The Federal Trade Commission sent testimony demands to Anthropic and other unnamed AI companies as part of a consumer-harm probe, Axios reported on Monday. The escalation of the probe, which has also involved OpenAI, came the same day that Anthropic began pitching investors on one of the largest IPOs ever.

Anthropic said in its S-1 filing that the investigation could bring significant costs to the