Israeli strikes kill 13 Palestinians in Gaza; UN staffer dies in Ansarallah detention; Haley Stevens’ meltdown

A Palestinian boy looks on after houses were destroyed in an Israeli strike in the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, on October 30, 2026. Photo by Eyad Baba / AFP via Getty Images. Monday, November 2, 2026 – Iran: Iran proposes two-day reopening of Hormuz following Qatar talks. Axios: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presses President Donald Trump to resume Iran strikes immediately after U.S. midterms. Qatari tanker struck in Gulf; October is war’s worst month for shipping attacks.

Hormuz shipping plunges over 90%, UN says. Palestine: Five Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza. Israeli forces end 11-day Hebron siege as raids and settler attacks continue across the occupied West Bank. Israel kills five Gaza police officers, bringing police death toll since ceasefire to 75. Israeli soldier posts photo of female Palestinian journalist blindfolded and bound. October marks highest number of injuries in Gaza since ceasefire began.

Israeli attacks in West Bank surge 53% since September, topping 3,100. Yemen: Ansarallah seizes strategic highlands in southwest Yemen. Saudi Arabia launches 75 strikes across Yemen as coalition intercepts Ansarallah strikes. 300,000+ displaced by war in Yemen. UN human rights staffer dies in Ansarallah detention. Lebanon: Israeli attacks target four districts across southern Lebanon despite ceasefire. U.S.: Judge tosses DOJ bid to delay certification of Alaska’s Senate results if the Republican loses.

Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race. Sen. Roger Marshall doubles down on sending medical patients to debt collection. Sen. Chris Murphy hospitalized after a stroke, is “awake and alert.” Head of Social Security Administration promotes Trump in emails to the public days before midterm. DHS says it is investigating 300,000 possible cases of noncitizen voting. Judge rejects Trump’s lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over Epstein reporting.

NYT/Siena poll shows Democratic leads in several key Senate races. International: Mada Masr appeal closure ruling. Bangladesh forms new wage board as garment workers protest for higher pay. Myanmar military strikes kill at least 15, including newborn. Uganda begins withdrawing troops from Somalia after yearslong deployment. Sudan files UN and AU complaints against Ethiopia over drone attacks. RSF accused of further attacks on Sudan’s power grid.

UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara expires following Russian veto. Jordan’s King Abdullah vows response to church attack, condemns Israeli expansionism. Serbia arrests two senior police officials on suspicion of abuse of office. This is Drop Site Daily, our free news recap We send it Monday – Friday Subscribe Iran Iran proposes two-day reopening of Hormuz following Qatar talks: Iranian negotiators departed Doha, Qatar, on Sunday after three days of indirect peace-deal talks with the U.S., mediated by Qatar.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told legislators that discussions centered on a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days, provided Washington first meets Tehran’s conditions, including lifting sanctions and ending its naval blockade. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that Iran had condensed its original seven-step plan into a process that could be implemented within 48 hours, calling it a demonstration of Tehran’s “goodwill-based approach.”

“The ball is now in the U.S.’s court and Iran’s demands are entirely clear and logical,” Baghaei said, accusing Washington of having “actively undermined diplomatic processes” over the past two years. Axios: Netanyahu presses Trump to resume Iran strikes immediately after U.S. midterms: On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Donald Trump to launch renewed attacks on Iran immediately after Tuesday’s midterm elections, Axios reported.

Trump reportedly wants to give negotiations more time, but he is also preparing for the possible resumption of major military operations. Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that he had a “very good talk” with Netanyahu on the phone. Netanyahu’s office did not comment on their call. Also on Sunday, Trump again threatened Iran: “The only reason we are not finished with Iran is because I want to be nice. I want to try and save all those lives if I can.

But at some point, we’re going to have to give them the hammer.” Qatari tanker struck in Gulf; October is war’s worst month for shipping attacks: A Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, Al Mayeda, was struck by unidentified objects while sailing in the Persian Gulf on Friday evening, Qatar Gas Transport Company said. No crew members were injured, and the vessel remains operational, with no reported environmental damage. Qatar condemned the attack as a threat to maritime navigation and global energy supplies, saying that an investigation was underway.

More than 120 commercial vessels have been attacked in the region since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in February, with October recording at least 29 attacks, the highest monthly toll of the war. Two more vessels were hit by projectiles in the Gulf since Sunday, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations. A tanker was struck by two unidentified projectiles off Saudi Arabia on Monday, while a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz came under fire Sunday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that two oil tankers struck naval mines while crossing the strait through “unauthorized routes” on Sunday, leaving both vessels disabled and a supertanker engulfed in flames. Hormuz shipping plunges over 90%, UN says: Arsenio Dominguez, head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization, outlined the scale of the maritime crisis in an interview with Bloomberg: Daily crossings plunged from 135 before the war to just 12 in late October, with only two recorded on October 29.

Many vessels have disabled tracking systems. More than 120 vessels have been attacked since the war began and at least 24 seafarers have been killed. Around 80 mines were previously identified in the shipping corridor, with no confirmation they have been cleared. Oil spills have affected Qatar, Oman, and the UAE. Jet fuel prices have increased 80% since the start of the war, shipping fuel 70%, and diesel more than 20% in over 95 countries, while disruptions threaten food security.

Pipelines, railways, and alternative land routes can handle only about 5% of affected cargo. Palestine Five Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza: An Israeli drone strike on a home in central Gaza killed one Palestinian and wounded several others on Monday, WAFA reported. Another strike northwest of Khan Younis killed one person, while a drone strike on a tent in Al-Mawasi, west of the city, killed one and wounded several others.

An Israeli air strike on a vehicle in Gaza City killed one and wounded five. A man also died of wounds sustained in an earlier Israeli strike in Rafah. Over the past 48 hours, Israeli attacks killed 13 Palestinians—11 in new attacks and two who died of wounds they sustained in earlier attacks—and injured 38 others across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Two bodies were also recovered from beneath the rubble. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023, is now 74,609 killed, with 175,872 injured.

Since October 11, 2025, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,593 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 5,748, while 847 bodies have been recovered. Israeli forces end 11-day Hebron siege as raids and settler attacks continue across the occupied West Bank: Hebron: Israeli forces withdrew from several neighborhoods in Hebron on Monday after an 11-day military assault on the city that displaced nearly 5,000 Palestinians.

Israeli forces demolished 15 civilian buildings, including homes, and disrupted schooling for some 80,000 students. Direct economic losses exceeded $3.8 million per day, while infrastructure damage surpassed $1.9 million, according to local Palestinian officials. Settlers attacked the home of Youssef Shanaran in Wadi Al-Rakhim, Masafer Yatta, throwing stones as the family’s confinement entered its 29th consecutive day. Twelve family members, including children, have been unable to enter or leave without Israeli military permission.

Settlers also reportedly threw unidentified substances into the family’s water well. Ramallah: Israeli forces fired tear gas toward Al-Mughayyir Secondary School, northeast of Ramallah, causing students to suffer from tear gas inhalation. Nablus: Israeli forces arrested journalist Samer Khweira after raiding his home in Nablus. Bethlehem: Israeli forces demolished an inhabited home in Umm Salmuna, south of Bethlehem, without prior notice.

Tubas: Israeli settlers stole livestock from a farm in the Salhab area northeast of Tubas, and damaged two vehicles. Salfit: Settlers blocked several roads near Kifl Haris, Haris, and Wadi Qana, burning tires and obstructing traffic with stones. Israel kills five Gaza police officers, bringing police death toll since ceasefire to 75: Israeli drone strikes killed five Palestinian police officers in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on Sunday.

Gaza’s Interior Ministry said the strikes deliberately targeted police officers and personnel while they were on duty, bringing the number of personnel killed since the October 2025 “ceasefire” to 75. Eyewitness Mohannad Abu Labda told Drop Site’s Mohamed Ahmed that two drone missiles struck a populated area surrounded by displacement tents and located beside a school. “These are their targets? Civil servants?” Abu Labda said. At least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Sunday, including three people, one of them a child, in a strike west of Gaza City.

Watch the dispatch from Mohamed Ahmed here . Israeli soldier posts photo of female Palestinian journalist blindfolded and bound: An Israeli soldier posted a photo of Palestinian journalist Marah Awad, blindfolded and with her hands bound, following her arrest during a pre-dawn Israeli military raid on her home in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on October 26. According to her brother, Israeli soldiers questioned her about her writings on Israel, accused her of “incitement,” and confiscated her phone and computer before taking her away.

Soldiers also reportedly beat two of her brothers during the raid. No formal charges have been publicly confirmed. October marks highest number of injuries in Gaza since ceasefire began: Israel killed 143 Palestinians and wounded 674 others in Gaza in October, according to a new monthly report from Gaza’s Health Ministry. Among those killed were 23 children, 11 women, and two elderly people. The wounded included 190 children and 129 women.

October recorded the highest monthly number of injuries since the ceasefire began on October 10, 2025. Israeli attacks in West Bank surge 53% since September, topping 3,100: Israeli forces and settlers carried out 3,133 attacks against Palestinians, their land, and property across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in October, a 52.8% increase from September, according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.

Israeli forces were responsible for 1,764 attacks, while settlers carried out 1,369, a 111.6% increase from the previous month. Olive harvest: Attacks damaged 5,890 trees, including 4,498 olive trees. The commission also documented 165 cases of olive theft and the theft of 384 sheep, alongside agricultural equipment and vehicles. Demolitions: Israeli authorities demolished 129 Palestinian structures, including 62 inhabited homes. At least 220 Palestinians, including 125 children, were directly affected.

Settlement expansion: Settlers attempted to establish 28 new outposts, while Israeli authorities advanced 10 settlement plans and issued five tenders covering 1,629 housing units. Yemen Ansarallah seizes strategic highlands in southwest Yemen: Ansarallah captured the highlands of the Al-Maqaterah district in Lahij governorate after seizing control of Al-Maqaterah Castle on Sunday. Forces from Al-Maqaterah district then traveled southwest to meet up with Ansarallah forces in Al-Madaribah and Ras Al-Ara district as they advanced along multiple fronts.

Only a couple hundred square kilometers of highland terrain remain under the control of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council in the vicinity of the Bab al-Mandab. Saudi launches 75 strikes across Yemen as coalition intercepts Ansarallah strikes: Saudi warplanes carried out 75 airstrikes and missile attacks across eight Yemeni governorates over 24 hours, Ansarallah military spokesperson Yahya Saree said Sunday. He said F-15 and Typhoon jets struck targets in Saada, Taiz, Amran, Ibb, Dhamar, Lahij, Hodeidah, and Al-Jawf, causing civilian casualties.

Saudi-led coalition strikes wounded seven people in Hodeidah, according to Ansarallah authorities. Four were wounded in strikes on Ras Issa port, while three others were injured in attacks on