Trump approves $2.8 billion arms deal for Israel, including 40,000 bombs; Building collapse in Gaza kills at least 21; U.S. diesel prices top $6.30

Gaza Civil Defense teams recover bodies from a collapsed building on September 16, 2026 in the Al-Sinaa area west of Gaza City, Gaza. Photo by Omar Ashtawy/Getty Images. Wednesday, September 16, 2026 – Saudi Arabia claims Ansarallah launched drone toward Mecca; group calls claim a “worn-out lie.” Ansarallah says it struck Saudi Aramco in Yanbu, targeted Khamis Mushait airbase, and downed F-15 fighter jet. U.S. urges travelers to reconsider Saudi Arabia travel over missile and drone threat. Ansarallah told U.S. it would limit attacks to Saudi ships, uphold ceasefire with Washington, Reuters reports. Iran claims it downed 52nd U.S. MQ-9 Reaper. U.S. spent $33.4 billion on Iran war in first four months, Pentagon watchdog says. U.S. diesel prices hit record high above $6.30 a gallon. Twenty-one Palestinians killed as Israeli-damaged building collapses in Gaza; dozens remain under rubble. Israeli attacks kill six Palestinians, including two children, in Gaza on Tuesday. Israeli forces demolish homes as settlers burn property, destroy water supplies across occupied West Bank. Trump administration approves $2.8 billion Israel arms package including 40,000 bombs. Israeli forces blow up homes, abduct man in southern Lebanon amid “ceasefire.” Lebanon seeks new international force for south after UN peacekeepers leave. House again votes to end U.S. war in Iran. Aaron Guckian wins Republican nomination for governor of Rhode Island. U.S. says FBI prevented Russian plot to kill dissidents. Ed Sheeran’s supporting acts quit tour after Macklemore removed over pro-Palestine remarks. EU proposes making Canada the bloc’s first “associate member.” India summons Pakistan’s top diplomat after naval collision in Arabian Sea. At least 67 killed in collapse at gold mine in Sudan. Ukraine launches new offensive north of key Donetsk fortress belt. China warns U.S. deployment of weapons in orbit could fuel a space arms race. This is Drop Site Daily, our free news recap We send it Monday – Friday Subscribe Yemen Saudi Arabia claims Ansarallah launched drone toward Mecca; group calls claim a “worn-out lie”: Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by Ansarallah south of Mecca at 6:50 p.m. Tuesday, before it entered the prohibited airspace around the city, Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said. Al-Maliki described it as the second attempted attack on Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, citing a ballistic missile launch in July 2017. Ansarallah political bureau member Hizam Al-Assad rejected the Saudi account, calling the claim that the group targeted Mecca “a worn-out lie that has been used before.” Ansarallah says it struck Saudi Aramco in Yanbu, targeted Khamis Mushait airbase: Yemen’s Ansarallah said Wednesday that its forces launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu, claiming “direct and precise hits” that caused major fires and widespread destruction. In a second operation, the group said it targeted the Khamis Mushait airbase with several ballistic missiles. Earlier, Ansarallah military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Yemen’s Marib governorate. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities. Ansarallah said the attacks were in response to more than 450 Saudi airstrikes across Yemen over the past week and vowed to continue operations “deep inside Saudi territory.” U.S. urges travelers to reconsider Saudi Arabia travel over missile and drone threat: The U.S. State Department placed Saudi Arabia under a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” advisory on Wednesday, citing the threat of Iranian and Ansarallah missile and drone attacks. The Yemen border remains under the highest Level 4 “Do Not Travel” warning, while U.S. government employees face additional travel restrictions near the border and in Qatif, Jizan, Asir and Najran. Ansarallah told U.S. it would limit attacks to Saudi ships, uphold ceasefire with Washington, Reuters reports: U.S. officials met representatives of Yemen’s Ansarallah at the U.S. Embassy in Muscat on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the meeting. Oman reportedly helped organize the talks. According to Reuters, Ansarallah told U.S. officials it remained committed to the 2025 ceasefire and would not attack American or Israeli ships, or other commercial vessels, except those belonging to Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration designated Ansarallah a “foreign terrorist organization” in March 2025, but later negotiated a ceasefire with the group in May after two months of U.S. bombing. Senior Ansarallah official Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti had earlier rejected Trump administration claims of direct talks, telling Sky News that any communication with Washington is conducted through Oman. U.S.-Ansarallah ceasefire remains intact despite Saudi-Yemen fighting, Huckabee says: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the ceasefire between Washington and Yemen’s Ansarallah remains in place despite the escalating fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. “The U.S. and the Houthis still have a ceasefire. That’s a good thing,” Huckabee told Newsmax, adding that the fighting has “not really gone across the region.” U.S. approves potential $5 billion bomb sale to Saudi Arabia: The Trump administration notified Congress of a proposed arms sale to Saudi Arabia that includes more than 10,000 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs and 10,004 extended-range JDAM guidance kits, which convert unguided bombs into precision-guided weapons. Boeing would serve as the principal contractor for the proposed transfer, which comes amid renewed Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. It is not yet a finalized contract. Congress has a 30-day review period following the September 4 notification. Iran Iran claims it downed 52nd US MQ-9 Reaper: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it intercepted and destroyed another U.S. MQ-9 Reaper over Qeshm Island Wednesday morning, claiming it was the 52nd such drone downed. An MQ-9 costs roughly $30 million or more depending on its configuration and equipment. Reports have put the U.S. Air Force’s operational MQ-9 inventory at around 135 aircraft after falling by more than 25%. China says it is willing to “safeguard” Iran’s rights amid mediation efforts: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing is willing to “safeguard Iran’s legitimate rights and interests” during talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, as China seeks to mediate the Iran-U.S. war. “We urge Washington and Tehran to engage in substantive consultations on outstanding issues,” Wang said, calling on both sides to rebuild a negotiating framework based on the consensus reached since the Islamabad memorandum of understanding. Both countries should “act rationally and with restraint,” Wang added. The meeting comes a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to travel to Washington for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. spent $33.4 billion on Iran war in first four months, Pentagon watchdog says: The U.S. spent an estimated $33.4 billion on Operation Epic Fury through June 29, including $22.3 billion in expended munitions and $3.7 billion in equipment losses, according to a Pentagon Inspector General report to Congress. The figure does not include the cost of repairing U.S. military infrastructure damaged by Iranian strikes, which damaged or destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at American bases across eight countries. The report also says dozens of U.S. aircraft were damaged or destroyed. Separately, the Congressional Budget office estimated that the Iran war has cost more than $38 billion, projecting it to cost an additional $2 to $3 billion monthly. The budget office projected inflation will be 0.5 percentage points higher than expected heading into 2027 due to the war. U.S. diesel prices hit record high above $6.30 a gallon: Average U.S. diesel prices rose to a record $6.31 per gallon on Wednesday, according to the American Automobile Association, surpassing Tuesday’s record of $6.27 and the previous historic high of about $5.82 set in 2022. Diesel averaged below $3.50 a gallon at the start of last year but has surged alongside global oil prices. Palestine Killed and wounded in Gaza: Over the past 24 hours, six Palestinians were killed and 71 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 73,795 killed, with 174,869 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,381 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 4,757, while 831 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble. Twenty-one Palestinians killed as Israeli-damaged building collapses in Gaza; dozens remain under the rubble: At least 21 Palestinians, including 12 children, were killed and 14 others injured after a residential building damaged by Israeli attacks and sheltering displaced families collapsed overnight in Gaza City, the Strip’s Health Ministry told Drop Site. More than 100 people, including 50 children, are estimated to have been sheltering in the building, with rescuers struggling to reach survivors amid a severe shortage of specialized machinery due to Israeli restrictions. “We can still hear the voices of people alive beneath the rubble,” Gaza’s rescue chief said. Rescue crews warned that more than 2,000 damaged buildings across Gaza are at risk of collapse while still housing large numbers of displaced Palestinians. At least 50 people have been killed in collapses of buildings damaged during Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip. Israel has refused to allow reconstruction materials into Gaza despite signing a ceasefire agreement nearly a year ago. Israeli attacks kill six Palestinians, including two children, in Gaza on Tuesday: Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy and a Civil Defense paramedic in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood on Tuesday, according to Healthcare Workers Watch. The group said an Israeli drone first struck a man, then fired a second missile as the paramedic attempted to rescue the wounded person. Footage shows the boy rushing to help the wounded paramedic when the second strike killed them both. In Khan Younis, Israeli forces carried out three strikes on tents sheltering displaced families in Al-Mawasi, killing two Palestinians, including a child, and wounding 14 others. Israeli forces demolish homes as settlers burn property, destroy water supplies across occupied West Bank: Hebron: Israeli forces demolished a two-story home south of Yatta housing eight people, most of them children, on Wednesday, WAFA reported. In Al-Tuwani, Masafer Yatta, armed settlers under Israeli military protection burned a home and agricultural room and spray-painted racist slogans. Israeli forces also closed the Ibrahimi Mosque to Palestinians until Thursday evening and imposed restrictions that halted classes at one nearby school and disrupted another. Jericho: Israeli forces demolished five homes and a prayer space in Al-Jiftlik, north of Jericho. Ramallah: Settlers continued bulldozing Palestinian land west of Ni‘lin for a third day, digging and carving roads. Israeli forces also raided several homes and field-interrogated the deputy mayor and two municipal workers. Tubas: Settlers cut water lines, emptied a water well used by residents, and destroyed crops in northern Yarza. In Tammun, Israeli forces detained seven members of one family, including two children, and beat family members in an effort to pressure another son to surrender. Salfit: Israeli forces began demolishing a pastoral community west of Deir Ballut, home to more than 20 Palestinians for over 20 years. “It was an execution”: Israeli forces kill Palestinian man during West Bank home raid: Israeli forces shot and killed 54-year-old Ziad Jaber during a predawn raid on his family’s home in Al-Bireh in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday. His brother Ramadan told Drop Site contributor Mutasem Sqf ElHait that soldiers blew open the family’s door and, about a minute later, he heard Ziad scream. The family was prevented from reaching him for around an hour and a half. “The only thing we saw was the blood,” Ramadan said. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said Jaber was struck by two bullets in a “field execution.” Watch the dispatch from Sqf ElHait here . Journalist Naqaa Hamed arrested by Israel: Palestinian-American journalist and Drop Site News contributor Naqaa Hamed was arrested by Israeli authorities at a checkpoint on Tuesday as she was returning from a reporting assignment in the occupied West Bank for Turkish broadcaster TRT, according to her colleagues and family. She spent the night in Israeli custody and is being interrogated about her journalistic work, a lawyer who spoke to Hamed on the phone told the family. Over the past several weeks, Israeli settlers have targeted Hamed with a wave of incitement on Telegram channels