WASHINGTON — The Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students in its escalating battle with the Ivy League school, saying thousands of current students must transfer to other schools or leave the country.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the action Thursday, saying Harvard has created an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, saying it hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

“This means Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status,” the agency said.

Harvard enrolls almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, accounting for more than a quarter of its student body. Most are graduate students, coming from more than 100 countries.

Harvard called the action unlawful and said it’s working on guidance for students. “This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community,” the university said.

The dispute stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The letter demanded that Harvard turn over information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation.

In a letter to Harvard on Thursday, Noem said the school’s sanction is “the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.”

Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces records on foreign students within 72 hours.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said Noem is seeking a “surveillance state.”

The nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, Harvard was the first to openly defy White House demands to limit pro-Palestinian protests and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The federal government has responded by cutting $2.6 billion in federal grants at Harvard, forcing it to self-fund much of its sprawling research operation. President Donald Trump has said he wants to strip the university of its tax-exempt status.

Homeland Security officials also tapped into concerns that congressional Republicans have raised about ties between U.S. universities and China. Homeland Security officials said Harvard provided training to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps as recently as 2024. As evidence, it provided a link to a Fox News article, which in turn cited a letter from House Republicans.

The Trump administration has leveraged a system for tracking international students’ legal status as part of its broader attempts to crack down on higher education. What was once a largely administrative database has become a tool of enforcement — immigration officials revoked students’ legal status directly in the system.

Those efforts were challenged in court, leading to restorations of status and a nationwide injunction blocking the administration from further terminations.

Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine fired hundreds of exploding drones at Russia from Tuesday night into Thursday morning, one of the largest attacks in more than three years of war, Russian authorities said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that 485 drones were shot down, 63 of them over the Moscow region. Ten Russian regions were targeted over 36 hours, authorities said.

It was not clear how much damage was caused by the strikes. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.

The drone swarm came a day after a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump resulted in no breakthroughs for a peace deal.

On Thursday, Russia launched 128 drones against Ukraine.

Also Thursday, Telegram channels in Russia reported disruptions at Moscow airports. Russia’s aviation authority said there were limited operations at four airports.

Israel-Hamas war: About 90 truckloads of aid had entered the Gaza Strip by Thursday, according to the United Nations, the first major influx of food Israel has allowed in after a nearly three-month aid blockade.

The U.N. humanitarian affairs office and the Israeli military confirmed that the aid deliveries were reaching warehouses and other points inside Gaza after days of delays. But aid officials said the shipment was a fraction of what is needed.

“Desperately needed aid is finally trickling in — but the pace is far too slow. We need more aid trucks coming in daily,” the World Food Program, one of the main U.N. agencies in Gaza, wrote on social media.

Combs trial: Rapper Kid Cudi testified Thursday that Sean “Diddy” Combs broke into his Hollywood Hills home in 2011 after finding out he was dating Combs’ ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, and said he was sure Combs was behind the firebombing of his car weeks later.

Speaking at Combs’ federal sex trafficking trial in Manhattan, Cudi said that while he and Cassie were briefly dating, he took her to a West Hollywood hotel in order to get her away from the seething Combs. While there, he said, he got a call from Combs’ assistant, Capricorn Clark. She told him Combs and an affiliate were in Cudi’s house and she was forced to go with them.

Detainee holds new son: Detained Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was allowed to hold his month-old son for the first time Thursday after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep them separated by a plexiglass barrier.

The visit came ahead of a scheduled immigration hearing for Khalil, a legal permanent resident and Columbia University graduate who has been in a Louisiana jail since March 8.

Khalil was the first person arrested under President Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters and is one of the few who has remained in custody as his case winds its way through immigration and federal courts.

Federal authorities have not accused Khalil of a crime, but they have sought to deport him on the basis that his prominent role in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza may have undermined U.S. foreign policy interests.