Trump’s “Board of Peace” convenes in Washington; Congress to force vote on Iran war; UN finds “hallmarks of genocide” in El-Fasher

Israeli attackskillthree Palestinians in southern Gaza. Palestiniansdetainedby Israel released back to Gaza. U.S. officialspreparelarge military base in southern Gaza. White Houseweighsusing Israeli-backed gangs to form Gaza police force. Settlers kill Palestinian-American in the West Bank; Israeli policekillPalestinian citizen of Israel. President Donald Trump hosts inaugural Board of Peace meeting. Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie to force a vote on war with Iran. U.S. is holding backchanneltalkswith Castro family confidante. Trumpthreatenspotential Iran strikes from UK bases amid dispute over Diego Garcia. U.S.delaysTaiwan arms package amid pressure from Xi Jinping ahead of Beijing summit. WexnersaysDOJ and FBI never questioned him over Epstein ties. Former Prince Andrew arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over Epstein ties. Mexicoexploresmediating between U.S. and Cuba as aid shipments continue. UN mission finds “hallmarks of genocide” in RSF takeover of El-Fasher. South Korean courtsentencesformer president to life in prison over failed self-coup attempt. U.S.beginsfull military withdrawal from Syria. Rights groupallegesrecord extrajudicial killings by Punjab police unit. Congooffersrebel-held Rubaya coltan mine to U.S. in strategic minerals push. U.S.-brokered Russia–Ukraine talks in Genevaendwithout a breakthrough. NEW from Drop Site: “This is no dress rehearsal”: U.S.amassesmajor military buildup near Iran as talks proceed. The Israeli governmentran security operationat Epstein-linked Manhattan apartment. This is Drop Site Daily, our new, free daily news recap.We send it Monday through Friday. Casualty counts:Over the past 24 hours, two Palestinians were killed and four were injured in Israeli attacks in Gaza. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,069 killed, with 171,728 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 611 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 1,630, while 726 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israeli attacks kill three Palestinians in southern Gaza:Three Palestinians werekilledby Israeli fire east of Khan Younis on the first day of Ramadan as Israel continued air, artillery, and tank strikes across the Gaza Strip, medical sources told Palestine Online. One person was killed in the Al-Tahlia neighborhood and two in Bani Suheila. Israeli artillery hit eastern Gaza City and homes were demolished in Beit Hanoun. Airstrikes also targeted Khan Younis and Rafah, extending attacks across both northern and southern Gaza. Palestinians detained by Israel released back to Gaza:Israelreleased13 detainees back to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening via the International Committee of the Red Cross, including one woman and a 15-year-old boy detained during earlier ground incursions. They arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in poor health, with signs of malnutrition and physical abuse, according to medical sources. U.S. officials prepare ISF military base in Gaza:The Trump administration isplanninga 5,000-person military base in Gaza spanning more than 350 acres to serve as an operating hub for the International Stabilization Force (ISF) under the “Board of Peace,” according to contracting records reviewed by The Guardian. The plans outline a phased construction of a fortified base featuring 26 armored watchtowers, a small arms range, bunkers, equipment warehouses, and barbed-wire perimeter defenses, to be built in southern Gaza. White House weighs using Israeli-backed gangs to form Gaza police force:The White House isconsideringa proposal to recruit anti-Hamas Palestinian gangs—armed by Israel since the onset of the genocide—into a new Gaza police force, The Telegraph reports. Some of these gangs, which include organized crime groups and drug-trafficking clans, have been reported to have been looting aid amid famine conditions and carrying out murders and kidnappings, with members of at least two groups reportedly having fought for or pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Settlers kill Palestinian-American in the West Bank:Israeli settlers shot and killed Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siyam, a 19-year-old Palestinian-American, in the village of Mukhmas, north of Jerusalem on Wednesday night, according to reports citing the Health Ministry. The Israeli military said soldiers responded to a violent confrontation in the area and attempted to disperse a riot. Several Palestinians were shot and evacuated for medical treatment. Abu Siyam’s mother told the Associated Press that he held American citizenship. ​ Israeli police kill Palestinian citizen of Israel; additional shootings reported:Israeli border policeshot and killed18-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel Ahmad Mohammad Ashqar during a stop in Kabul in the Galilee on Wednesday, according to The Times of Israel. Police said an officer opened fire after Ashqar, riding a motorcycle, allegedly failed to heed orders to stop; footage showed him crashing into a parked car after being shot. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the officer had his “full backing.” Separately, three other Palestinian citizens of Israel were shot dead on the same day amid a surge in violence affecting Palestinian communities within Israel. U.S. approves coordination between Palestinian Authority and BoP:The United States hasapprovedthe creation of a formal coordination committee between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and President Trump’s Board of Peace to oversee postwar reconstruction in Gaza Strip, U.S. and Palestinian officials told The Times of Israel. The panel will include PA Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa and Gaza High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, as Ramallah seeks greater influence over Gaza’s future despite continued U.S. and Israeli opposition to an expanded PA role. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has not been invited to Thursday’s Board of Peace meeting. Palestinian photographer killed in Gaza named 2026 George Polk Award winner:Palestinian photojournalist Mariam Dagga was posthumouslynamedas one of the winners of the 2026 George Polk Awards for photojournalism. Dagga was killed in an Israeli “double tap” attack on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis that killed at least 21 Palestinians, including five journalists. The second strike of the attack was captured on camera directly hitting journalists and rescuers on a staircase. Lancet study finds Gaza death toll far higher than previously reported:A new study published in The Lancetestimatesmore than 75,000 people were killed in the first 16 months of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip—at least 25,000 more than figures released by local authorities at the time—while confirming that Gaza health officials accurately reported the share of women, children, and elderly among the dead. Researchers found that about 56 percent of violent deaths between October 2023 and January 2025 fell into those groups and that thousands more people likely died from indirect causes such as disease and malnutrition. The study challenges Israeli claims that combatant and civilian deaths were roughly equal following the October 7 attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli assault, suggesting the official toll substantially undercounted fatalities by a margin similar to earlier independent estimates. Congress to vote on Iran war:Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie, (R-Ky.) are forcing a vote on Trump’s war with Iran by using the privileged procedure associated with the War Powers Act. The resolution is likely to come to the floor of the House next week, yet has been assiduously ignored by the mainstream press.It could end up becoming as politically consequentialas the 2002 vote to authorize war in Iraq. Trump hosts inaugural Board of Peace meeting:President Donald Trump opened the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, D.C. on Thursday where representatives from more than 45 countries are expected to attend. “In terms of power and in terms of prestige there’s never been anything close because these are the greatest leaders,” Trump said in his opening remarks. There is no Palestinian representation on the board, while Israel holds a seat. According to a run of show circulating online, Trump and Vance will open, followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Waltz. Dr. Ali Shaath of the NCAG on Gaza’s future will follow, then Tony Blair on capacity building, World Bank President Ajay Banga on fiscal oversight, and Jared Kushner on “measurable” results in Gaza. Roundtables will cover Gaza aid, policing, reconstruction, sovereign wealth funding, supply chains, and redevelopment plans. The agenda also features a “FIFA video presentation.” U.S. holds quiet backchannel talks with Castro grandson:Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedlyheldsecret discussions with Raúl Castro’s grandson and close confidant, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, according to Axios, citing three sources including a senior Trump administration official. The outreach suggests Washington views Raúl Castro—rather than President Miguel Díaz-Canel—as a power broker who can facilitate a deal. In February, the U.S. diplomat for Cuba Mike Hammer said, “Obviously there are conversations with some very high-ranking people within the regime,” and added, “Yes, there is a Delcy Rodríguez” in Cuba. “This is no dress rehearsal”: U.S. amasses major military buildup near Iran as talks proceed:The United States is deploying a massive concentration of air and naval power in the Middle East as talks continue with Iran. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday the talks in “some ways…went well” but warned that the administration has set red lines Iran has not accepted; Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has rejected what he called ultimatums disguised as negotiations. The deployment includes two carrier strike groups—the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford—dozens of advanced fighter jets and refueling aircraft, expanded missile defense batteries, and more than 30,000 U.S. personnel positioned within range of Iran. Current and former U.S. officials told Drop Site that the scale of the buildup would support sustained strikes targeting Iranian air defenses, missile forces, and senior leadership if diplomacy collapses, while Tehran has signaled it would retaliate forcefully and could threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.Read the full report on the buildup from Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for Drop Site,here. Trump threatens potential Iran strikes from UK bases amid dispute over Diego Garcia:President Donald Trumpsuggestedthe United States could launch attacks on Iran from British territory—including the major U.S.-UK base on the island of Diego Garcia—with or without London’s consent. Trump also used the opportunity to criticize Prime Minister Keir Starmer over a sovereignty deal that transferred the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius. Lawmakers press State Department over detention of Palestinian-American teen:Fifteen U.S. lawmakersledby Sen. Peter Welch wrote to Rubio to demand answers about the nine-month imprisonment of Palestinian-American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim in Israel. Arrested at 15 in the occupied West Bank, Ibrahim was allegedly beaten, pepper-sprayed, and denied adequate food and medical care, losing roughly a third of his body weight before his release in November. The lawmakers asked whether the State Department has sought an independent investigation and accountability for those responsible. U.S. delays Taiwan arms package amid pressure from Xi ahead of Beijing summit:The Trump administration is holding up a major U.S. weapons sale to Taiwan after Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged caution in a recent call with Trump, the Wall Street Journalreports, with officials fearing approval could derail Trump’s planned April visit to Beijing. Advisers are weighing the deal—expected to include Patriot missile interceptors—against broader efforts to preserve a trade truce and stabilize relations between the U.S. and China. Regulators face pressure over Blackstone’s early equity move in New Mexico utility takeover:Private equity giant Blackstone purchased $400 million in shares of TXNM Energy—the parent of the Public Service Company of New Mexico—before receiving the approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission it is legally require to obtain, according to filings tied to Blackstone’s proposed acquisition of the utility. Mariel Nanasi of New Energy Economy said the move shows “reckless disregard for New Mexico law,” arguing the unauthorized purchase of equities should block the broader merger, which would be a major victory for consumer advocates in the state who have sought to prevent private equity’s takeover of the state’s largest electricity provider. Read more at the The American Prospect,here. Israeli government ran security operation at Epstein-linked Manhattan apartment:The Israeli government installed and maintained security equipment beginning in early 2016 at a Manhattan apartment building controlled by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to emails recently released by the Department of Justice and reviewed by Drop Site News. The system covered a unit where former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak stayed for extended periods, with officials from Israel’s permanent mission to the United Nations coordinating regularly with Epstein’s staff over access and arrangements. Epstein frequently loaned apartments to his contacts and used the