NBC: Hamas 'Abduction Manual' Shows That Hostage-Taking Was A Central Aim Of Attack

“A Hamas “abduction manual” with detailed instructions on how to take civilians hostage, bind them by their wrists and ankles, collect their identification papers and “kill the problematic” was released by the Israeli Defense Forces on Monday along with grisly new bodycam footage that shows Hamas fighters gunning down civilians.   The kidnapping directives — imprinted with a watermark that reads “al-Quds brigade” and labeled “Top secret” in Arabic — also include instructions on how to livestream kidnappings, a tactic that was used by some Hamas hostage takers during the Oct. 7 attack that killed over 1,000 civilians, the bloodiest terrorist attack on Israeli soil in the country's 76-year history. The release of the materials appears to be part of an effort by Israeli officials to counter recent claims by Hamas that it was Palestinian civilians who entered Israel during the attack that took hostages, not its fighters. The documents also suggest that hostage-taking was a core goal of Hamas’ attack and that the group planned to document it in both photos and videos. IDF officials said the documents were recovered from the bodies of Hamas members who attacked kibbutzim near the Gaza border on Oct. 7.”

Reuters: Crypto's Role In Terrorist Financing

“Cryptocurrency's role in terrorist financing and funding militant groups has come under renewed scrutiny following a deadly attack in Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel has seized crypto accounts it says are linked to Hamas. U.S. lawmakers have urged the government to crack down on the use of cryptocurrencies by Hamas and its affiliates. But cryptocurrencies are just one way that violent militant groups and groups designated as terrorist organisations get and use money. Here's what we know about crypto's role. Anyone can set up a cryptocurrency wallet address, without always having to undergo checks such as those by a bank. The addresses are pseudonymous – labelled only by a string of letters and numbers – which means people can send and receive cryptocurrency without revealing their identity. The blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrency operates digitally, across borders, meaning that it can act as an instant payments system. Crypto is subject globally to less specific regulation than traditional finance, although new rules are being introduced in some regions. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global body responsible for tackling money laundering and terrorist financing, has warned that crypto assets "risk becoming a safe haven for the financial transactions of criminals and terrorists".”

United States

The Daily Signal: ‘The One Thing Iran Fears Is Peace,’ Sen. Joni Ernst Says Of Regime’s Link To Hamas Terrorist Attack

“Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel is a reminder of the threat Iran poses, Sen. Joni Ernst said Monday at an event on Capitol Hill. Ernst, R-Iowa, speaking at a Heritage Foundation event called “Future of the U.S.-Israel Alliance at 75,” said the Biden administration’s appeasement of Iran led to the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, in which the terrorist group killed some 1,400 civilians. “It is very important we continue supporting Israel, now more than ever,” Ernst said, while explaining that this terrorist attack was different and more extreme that what the Jewish state has experienced before. Ernst, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard, was the first U.S. elected official on the ground in Israel after Hamas struck, killing and taking hostage Americans as well as Israelis.”

Syria

ABC: Hamas Militants 'May Potentially' Try Crossing Southern Border, US Officials Warn

“Militants associated with the Israel-Hamas war “may potentially be encountered at the southwest border," U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in San Diego recently warned in an internal intelligence notice. "[I]ndividuals inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle east via circuituous transit across the Southwest border,” reads the notice, sent Friday, in part. The intel document shows various insignias worn by Hamas, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. It informs CBP personnel to be vigilant for military-age men wearing military gear and traveling alone at the border. CBP intelligence offices regularly generate reports on potential threats to border security. Naming particular groups may indicate that officials have specific intelligence based on the severity of potential threats outside the U.S.”

The New York Post: Kevin Mccarthy Warns Of Potential Terrorist ‘Sleeper Cells’ In The US

“Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has warned there may be terrorist sleeper cells hiding in the US and waiting for the order to strike during the unprecedented illegal immigration at the southern border. “If you simply look at what’s the chaos right now, a wide-open southern border, I’m concerned about a cell sitting inside America today,” the Republican Congressman told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “We just caught 18 people just last month on the FBI Terror Watch List coming across our border, more than 160 have done it this year,” the former speaker said, citing a recently released Customs and Border Protection report, which showed a total of 169 people on the terror watch list were apprehended over the past 12 months.”

Voice Of America: More Drones Target US Forces In Middle East

“U.S. troops shot down two drones targeting American forces in southern Syria on Monday, the latest in a string of drone attacks targeting American bases and facilities in the Middle East as officials warn of a “significant threat” of escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters that Iranian-backed forces launched two one-way attack drones at al-Tanf garrison on Monday that were taken out by American defense systems, resulting in no injuries. “We know that these groups are groups that are backed by Iran,” Ryder said. “We will ultimately hold Iran responsible.” The attack marked at least the fifth drone or rocket attack on U.S. forces in the Middle East in a week, which the Pentagon has described as an “uptick.” Some of the attacks resulted in minor injuries and damage. “There is a significant threat of escalation throughout the region, and that would be, that would include towards U.S. forces,” a senior military official told reporters. Last week, two drones targeted al-Tanf in Syria. A drone targeted Al-Harir Air Base — formerly Bashur Air Base — in northern Iraq. Two drones targeted al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq, and rockets targeted U.S. and coalition forces near Baghdad’s International Airport.”

Afghanistan

Associated Press: A US Watchdog Says The Taliban Are Benefiting From International Aid Through ‘Fraudulent’ NGOs

“The watchdog for U.S. assistance to Afghanistan has warned that the Taliban are benefiting from international aid through the establishment of fraudulent nongovernmental organizations. The Taliban have exerted greater control over national and international NGOs since seizing power in August 2021. They have barred Afghan women from NGO work and sought to push out foreign organizations from the education sector. A report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, said it found that the Taliban benefit from American-funded education programming through the generation of tax revenues and from more “nefarious” methods like the establishment of fraudulent NGOs and extorting and infiltrating existing NGOs to obtain or direct international donor aid. In May, a SIGAR report highlighted the Taliban’s interference with NGO work in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Economy, which supervises the sector, rejected the claims. Ministry spokesman Abdul Rahman Habib, responding to the latest SIGAR report on Monday, said there was no evidence of interference. According to the report, published this month, the U.S. has spent around $185 million on education in Afghanistan since August 2021.”

Lebanon

Bloomberg: Hostages And Hezbollah Force Israel To Rethink Gaza Ground War

“More than two weeks since Israel declared war on Hamas and enlisted hundreds of thousands of troops in an unprecedented call-up, there are growing calls inside the country to rethink the scope of a ground invasion that had been expected any day. People familiar with the discussions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet say the pressure comes from numerous concerns: fear that Hezbollah in Lebanon will enter from the north with its missiles, the fate of some 200 hostages in Gaza, and the risk of Israeli military casualties. This doesn’t mean troops won’t enter Gaza — even perhaps soon — as air strikes continue in the meantime. But the nature of their operation is being reconsidered on a daily basis as some security veterans urge caution that Israel should respond methodically rather than in a rage to avenge the Hamas onslaught of Oct. 7 that left 1,400 Israelis dead. “No harm is done by waiting with a ground operation,” Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser, said on television late Sunday. “Every day that passes benefits us and hurts Hamas, and the more time passes, the less the air force will be needed in Gaza, so it will be possible to move it up north.”

Middle East

Counter Extremism Project: CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler On Sky News | Israel-Hamas War

“...On October 19, 2023, CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler was interviewed by SkyNews for a breaking news segment on the Israel-Hamas war, in particular discussing Palestinian Islamic Jihad vis a vis Hamas.”

Associated Press: Hamas Frees Two Israeli Women As US Advises Delaying Ground War To Allow Talks On Captives

“Hamas on Monday released two elderly Israeli women held hostage in Gaza as the United States expressed increasing concern that the escalating Israel-Hamas war will spark a wider conflict in the region, including attacks on American troops. The death toll in Gaza rose rapidly as Israel ramped up airstrikes that flattened buildings in what it said was preparation for an eventual ground assault. The United States advised Israel to delay the expected invasion to allow time to negotiate the release of more hostages taken by Hamas during its brutal incursion two weeks ago. A third small aid convoy from Egypt entered Gaza, where the population of 2.3 million has been running out of food, water and medicine under Israel’s sealed border. With Israel still barring entry of fuel, the United Nations said its distribution of aid would grind to a halt within days when it can no longer fuel trucks inside Gaza. Hospitals flooded by a constant stream of wounded are struggling to keep generators running to power lifesaving medical equipment and incubators for premature babies.”

Washington Post: West Bank Militancy Surges As Israel Steps Up Raids And Arrests

“A group of young Hamas fighters in black tracksuits walked through the rubble of a mosque, damaged by an Israeli airstrike Sunday that killed a fellow militant. The men are wanted by Israel and have sought refuge in the Jenin refugee camp, hiding from a security crackdown that has swept up thousands of Palestinians across the West Bank. They’re trying to save face after what happened in Gaza,” a fighter said of the Israeli strikes, raids and arrests targeting militants in the occupied territory. The man, 20, had freshly bandaged wounds on his arms and face, which he said were from a separate attack. “It won’t work,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of safety concerns. “They will always lose.” Israel’s sweeping security measures in the West Bank are an extension of its war against Hamas in Gaza, an attempt to eliminate the militant group and permanently shift the balance of power in a conflict that has raged for decades. More than 1,400 people have been arrested and more than 90 have been killed in the West Bank over the last two weeks, according to Palestinian officials.”

Reuters: Israel Says Strikes Will Dismantle Hamas As Palestinian Death Toll Rises

“Israel said on Tuesday it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in strikes on Gaza and indicated that it had no intention of easing its bombardment of the besieged Palestinian enclave. The United States urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, trapped in a humanitarian crisis after two weeks of intense Israeli attacks. But there appeared to be little prospect of a ceasefire any time soon in the bloodiest episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades. The Palestinian health ministry said more than 5,000 people have been killed in Gaza by two weeks of Israeli air strikes unleashed in response to a Hamas attack. The Islamist militant group killed more than 1,400 people - mostly civilians - in a single day. Hamas on Monday freed two Israeli women who were among the more than 200 hostages taken during the group's Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel. They were the third and fourth hostages to be released. Israeli tanks and troops are massed on the border between Israel and the Hamas-ruled enclave awaiting orders for an expected ground invasion - an operation that will be complicated by concerns over the hostages.”

Germany

The National: Ghosts Of Nazi Past Haunt Germany As Gaza War Puts Jews On Edge

“…These images are horrible from a German perspective,” Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former diplomat in the Middle East and a director of the Counter Extremism Project, told The National. “We all remember the black-and-white pictures from the 1930s. Having Stars of David on the walls of Jewish buildings ever again in Germany is something I wouldn’t have expected to be possible and really sends some shivers down my spine.”

Europe

Foreign Policy: After Hamas Attacks, Terror Threats Are on the Rise

“… The broader impact of the Hamas attacks—even before a potentially escalating regional war—is the possibility that terrorist groups around the world will try to match the spectacular carnage that Hamas pulled off earlier this month, which had a death toll equivalent to multiple Sept. 11 attacks on a per capita basis in a small country such as Israel. The need for terror outfits to raise their own game is what will make them even more dangerous, said Hans-Jakob Schindler, the senior director of the Counter Extremism Project.”

Technology

ABC: Experts Fear Hate, Extremism On Social Media Amid Israel-Hamas War

“The impacts of the war between Israel and Hamas are compounding in the United States, as hateful online rhetoric has homeland security experts concerned about the spread of extremist ideologies in the U.S. Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities are fearful, and law enforcement agencies are on high alert amid the heightened tensions worldwide. Online misinformation about the war and these communities is top of mind for many homeland security experts, who say it's playing a big part in inciting extremism, violence and hate. John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security official and ABC News contributor, believes online hate activity has been fueling terrorism and extremism during recent times of political polarization as hateful content oversaturates social media platforms. "We're an angry nation," he told ABC News. Individuals who are "angry" and "disaffected" are often targets for online misinformation campaigns that blend ideological beliefs with personal grievances, Cohen said. Hateful messages can spread quickly online, landing in front of unsuspecting viewers who may not initially even realize they're engaging with anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian or antisemitic content, according to former DHS official and ABC New contributor Elizabeth Neumann.”