Bloomberg: Biden Casts Russia, Hamas As Parallel Threats To Democracy

“President Joe Biden directly appealed to the American people to support funding for Israel and Ukraine’s war efforts, warning that Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin pose parallel threats to US democracy. The roughly 15 minute Oval Office address precedes a formal White House request that Congress provide approximately $100 billion in resources for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the US southern border. Biden argued that supporting Ukraine and Israel in their fights against Russia and militant groups, respectively is “vital for America’s national security.” “I know these conflicts can seem far away, and it’s natural to ask why does this matter to America,” Biden said Thursday. “Hamas and Putin represent different threats. They share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy.”

CNN: Bulletin Advises Of Potential ‘Lone Offender’ Attacks As US Counterterrorism Officials Work To Detect Homeland Threats

“With a war ongoing between Israel and Hamas, law enforcement agencies across the US remain on high alert, with a joint bulletin Wednesday warning of the threat of “lone offenders” as sources say officials are using an array of sophisticated tools and techniques to monitor for potential threats. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, along with the National Counterterrorism Center, issued the Joint Intelligence Bulletin sharing information and a threat assessment advising state and local law enforcement agencies that “lone offenders inspired by, or reacting to, the ongoing Israel-HAMAS conflict pose the most likely threat to Americans.” The bulletin – obtained by CNN – also notes “the FBI has seen an increase in reports of threats against faith communities, particularly Jewish and Muslim communities.” While Hamas has not specifically called for attacks on US soil, the bulletin says, other foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks in the US, which “may prompt homegrown extremists” to direct attacks at Israeli, Jewish or US government targets.”

United States

ABC: US Navy Destroyer In Red Sea Shoots Down Cruise Missiles Potentially Headed Toward Israel: Pentagon

“The USS Carney, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer in the northern Red Sea, on Thursday shot down multiple missiles and drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen that the Pentagon said were potentially headed toward targets in Israel. It is the first time in recent memory that a U.S. Navy ship in the Middle East has engaged missiles and drones that were not directly aimed at the vessel. It's also the first U.S. military action taken to defend Israel in the current crisis and with the U.S. and other countries trying to contain the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the possibility that an Iranian-backed proxy group fired missiles and drones at Israel is sure to increase growing regional tensions. The ship was in the northern Red Sea on Thursday evening local time when it intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing. U.S. officials told ABC News that the Carney had brought down eight drones launched by the Houthis. The preliminary U.S. assessment was that the USS Carney was not the target of any of the Houthi missiles or drones, according to multiple U.S. officials.”

Syria

Reuters: US Troops Attacked In Iraq, Syria And On Alert For More Strikes

“U.S. troops have been repeatedly attacked in Iraq and Syria in recent days, U.S. officials said on Thursday, as Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups with regional tensions soaring during the Israel-Hamas war. President Joe Biden has sent naval power to the Middle East in the past two weeks, including two aircraft carriers, other warships and about 2,000 Marines. There has been an uptick in attacks on U.S. forces since the conflict in Israel broke out on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants from Hamas attacked southern Israel. On Wednesday, a drone hit U.S. forces in Syria resulting in minor injuries, while another one was brought down. During a false alarm at Al-Asad airbase in Iraq, a civilian contractor died from a cardiac arrest. Earlier this week, U.S. forces thwarted multiple drones targeting troops in Iraq. On Thursday, drones and rockets targeted the Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts U.S. and other international forces in western Iraq, and multiple blasts were heard inside the base. Rockets hit another military base hosting U.S. forces near Baghdad's international airport, Iraqi police said on Thursday, without providing further details.”

Middle East

The Cipher Brief: Deciphering Hamas’s Web Of Support

“…Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Executive Director David Ibsen says Turkey’s alliance with Hamas, runs fervently counter to NATO ally, the United States, and the terror group’s tight alliance with Doha. “Since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip and drove out the Palestinian Authority in 2007, Qatar and Turkey have emerged as Hamas’s primary diplomatic backers. Qatar is home to both the current leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and the former leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal,” he explained. “Qatar provides Hamas with freedom of movement and allows it to carry out its activities undisturbed. In 2017, the Sheraton Hotel in Doha hosted Hamas’s press conference announcing its revised charter. Despite Hamas’s record of violence, including launching thousands of rockets at Israeli population centers over the years, Qatar continues to welcome the Hamas leadership and allow it to carry out its business undisturbed.”

PBS: Why Hamas And Israel Are Both Alleged To Have Broken International Rules Of War

“Hamas and Israel have both been accused of breaking international law during their latest conflict, and the United Nations says it is collecting evidence of war crimes by all sides. Enforcing the law amid the fog of war is difficult. Holding perpetrators to account once conflicts are over has often proved elusive. Here is a look at some of the issues. The rules of armed conflict are governed by a set of internationally recognized laws and resolutions, including the United Nations charter, which prohibits aggressive wars but allows countries the right to self-defense. Battlefield behavior has international humanitarian laws including the Geneva Conventions, drawn up after World War II and agreed on by almost every nation. The four conventions agreed upon in 1949 set out that civilians, the wounded and prisoners must be treated humanely in wartime. They ban murder, torture, hostage-taking and “humiliating and degrading treatment” and require fighters to treat the other side’s sick and wounded. The rules apply both to wars between nations and conflicts, like that between Israel and Hamas, in which one of the parties is not a state.”

The Times Of Israel: IDF Says Hezbollah Will ‘Bear The Consequences’ For Rocket Fire From Lebanon

“IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group will bear responsibility for attacks carried out on northern Israel, including those claimed by Palestinian groups. He says the recent rocket fire on northern Israel, claimed by Hamas, was carried out with Hezbollah’s approval, “just like all the attacks carried out by Palestinians from Lebanon since the beginning of the fighting.” “Hezbollah will bear the consequences for all the actions,” he says.”

United Kingdom

The Independent: UK Permits Antisemitism, Says Counter-Extremism Adviser

“Writing in The Times, Commissioner for Countering Extremism Robin Simcox said a good test of a society's health was how it treated its Jews - and, by this metric, the UK was "very sick indeed". Security minister Tom Tugendhat denied this, arguing threats to any community were taken "extremely seriously". Police have recorded a steep rise in antisemitic incidents since 7 October. On that date, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a series of attacks on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages. More than 3,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes, and a ground offensive is expected. In his Times article, Mr Simcox said tens of thousands of British citizens had gone online and taken to the streets to voice support for “Palestinian resistance". He accused them of "successfully exploiting one of our proudest British values - free expression - to pursue a shameful extremist agenda, the normalisation and promotion of antisemitism", adding that this must be a "wake-up call for all decent people".”

China

Reuters: Taliban Says Plans To Formally Join China's Belt And Road Initiative

“The Taliban administration wants to formally join Chinese President Xi Jinping's huge 'Belt and Road' infrastructure initiative and will send a technical team to China for talks, Afghanistan's acting commerce minister said on Thursday. Beijing has sought to develop its ties with the Taliban-run government since it took over in 2021, even though no other foreign government has recognised the administration. Last month, China became the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul, with other nations retaining previous ambassadors or appointed heads of mission in a charge d'affaires capacity that does not involve formally presenting credentials to the government. "We requested China to allow us to be a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Belt and Road Initiative... (and) are discussing technical issues today," acting Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters in an interview a day after the Belt and Road Forum ended in Beijing. The Pakistan "economic corridor" refers to the huge flagship section of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Afghanistan's neighbour.”

Technology

The Guardian: Instagram Apologises For Adding ‘Terrorist’ To Some Palestinian User Profiles

“Meta has apologised after inserting the word “terrorist” into the profile bios of some Palestinian Instagram users, in what the company says was a bug in auto-translation. The issue, which was first reported by 404media, affected users with the word “Palestinian” written in English on their profile, the Palestinian flag emoji and the word “alhamdulillah” written in Arabic. When auto-translated to English the phrase read: “Praise be to god, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom.” TikTok user YtKingKhan posted earlier this week about the issue, noting that different combinations still translated to “terrorist”. “How did this get pushed to production?” one person replied. “Please tell me this is a joke bc I cannot comprehend it I’m out of words,” another said. After the first video, Instagram resolved the issue. The auto-translation now reads: “Thank God”. A spokesperson for Meta told Guardian Australia the issue had been fixed earlier this week. “We fixed a problem that briefly caused inappropriate Arabic translations in some of our products. We sincerely apologise that this happened,” the spokesperson said.”