Eye on Extremism: October 7, 2025
Top Stories
Reuters: Lebanon’s Hezbollah gets $200 million from Iran to help displaced, sources say
Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel, two people with direct knowledge of the transfer said, the first significant aid from the group to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.
Leaders from around the world issued statements Wednesday marking the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre in southern Israel, with most condemning the attack and the global surge in antisemitism that came in its wake, while also stressing efforts toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
CEP Mentions
Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler on the Russian shadow war against Germany.
Analysis
Africa Defense Forum: Terrorists’ Illicit Funding Streams Converge
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) amasses an estimated $100 million a year through a web of illicit activities that illustrates the way terrorism, organized crime and public corruption are connected.
The Soufan Center: Sinwar’s Carnage and the Domino Effect of the October 7 Hamas Terror Attacks
There is a longstanding debate in the field of terrorism studies about whether terrorism “works.” In other words, does the use of terrorism and political violence help violent extremists achieve their goals and objectives, or does it merely serve to wreak havoc? On the third anniversary of the heinous Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, it now seems that the architect of the attacks — Yahya Sinwar — advanced at least some of his goals to reshape public perception of Israel. Looking at the longer-term trends and trajectories set in motion by the October 7 attack, one could argue that some of the resulting developments have aligned with Sinwar’s objectives.
Jerusalem Post: Is the world turning against the Islamic Republic of Iran? – analysis
On Monday, 10 countries – the United States, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago – issued a joint statement condemning what they described as Iranian terrorist activity and malign influence across the Americas.
Antisemitism
A new survey examining ideological and religious attitudes among young Christian men indicated that specific theological views served as a far stronger predictor of antisemitic attitudes than regular church attendance.
European leaders issue statements marking the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 invasion and massacre in southern Israel, condemning the attack and the global surge in antisemitism that came in its wake, while also stressing efforts toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States
Nearly two-thirds of Jewish voters in New York City disapprove of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s handling of antisemitism, according to a new poll released on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Jewish voters also said Mamdani, a fierce critic of Israel, should not hold or attend an official city event marking the anniversary.
WTAJ: Butler County man accused of providing guns, ammo and support to ISIS
A Butler County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on chages involving providing firearms and support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). United States Attorney Troy Rivetti said the one-count indictment named Johnathan Hunter Kramer, 21, as the sole defendant.
A teenager facing domestic terrorism and attempted murder charges remains at a mental health treatment center following a judge’s ruling on Tuesday. The decision came despite pleas from prosecutors and one of the boy’s classmates to put him in juvenile detention.
Vox: Why is the right obsessed with Indians all of a sudden?
For many Texans, the second weekend of September was a moment for the state to shine. The Texas Longhorns, the University of Texas at Austin’s storied football team, upset the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes in a dramatic comeback win. But for Bo French, the Republican candidate for railroad commissioner, a powerful position that was born to regulate railroads but today oversees the state’s sizable oil and gas industry, the most notable part was the number of South Asians in the crowd.
A professor at Haverford College has been arrested, accused in what federal authorities said was a terrifying, “targeted” and “pervasive” act of antisemitic harassment against a coworker.
Canada
Homeland Security Today: Saskatchewan Teenager Faces Terrorism Charges Over 764-Connected Activity
On Sep. 24, 2026, the RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) in Alberta arrested and charged an 18-year-old Yorkton resident with terrorism-related offences. Following a report of concerning online activity, INSET began an investigation into a Telegram user who allegedly posted a series of videos depicting real-world activity as a 764 member. Investigators found the user was also referenced in numerous 764-related chatrooms on Discord and Telegram.
Police in the Ontario town where a gunman charged the Sons of Jacob synagogue on Yom Kippur are investigating antisemitic flyers distributed around the synagogue’s neighborhood.
Colombia
The government of President Abelardo de la Espriella will present Colombia’s Congress with a comprehensive “counterterrorism statute,” which would give authorities enhanced powers to fight designated terrorist organizations.
Italy
Jerusalem Post: Italy deports two foreign nationals suspected of attacking Milan Chabad emissary
Italy deported two foreign nationals suspected of attacking Milan Chabad emissary Rabbi Tzemach Mizrahi, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced on Monday.
Belarus
Belsat: Belarus Prosecutor General reports 2,000+ “extremist” cases in 18 months
Belarusian Prosecutor General Dzmitry Hara stated that work on “countering extremism” continues, and the number of such crimes is gradually decreasing. He said this at a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Four Taliban Members Killed In Badakhshan, Says AFF
The Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s blast in Faizabad, saying a targeted attack on a vehicle carrying Taliban members killed four people, including a Taliban commander.
Afghanistan International: Senior Taliban Officials Hold Security Meeting In Kandahar
Taliban governors, police chiefs and intelligence heads from southwestern Afghanistan met in Kandahar on Tuesday to discuss security, with senior officials from five provinces and military bodies attending.
Afghanistan International: Fresh Explosion Hits Badakhshan’s Faizabad Amid Series Of Blasts
An explosion struck near the Taliban police headquarters in Faizabad, Badakhshan, early Wednesday. Taliban police said explosives hidden inside a flowerpot targeted a Toyota Corolla, injuring two civilians.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari told UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday that militant groups based in Afghanistan continue to target Pakistan, adding that Islamabad has shared evidence of foreign support for them.
PBS News: As some Afghans escape the Taliban, other refugees are forced to return
The Taliban's return in Afghanistan has brought economic collapse and deep uncertainty, especially for young people. Afghans are still trying to flee in search of safety. At the same time, more than six million who had escaped are now returning, many of them deported from neighboring countries. Special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen and videographer Eric O’Connor report.
8AM Media: Lavrov: Taliban-Pakistan Dispute Prevented Final Moscow Format Document
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said disagreements between the Taliban and Pakistan prevented the Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan from reaching a final document.
Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday, October 6, that the disagreements between the Taliban and Pakistan were an “unpleasant” development, but emphasized that he did not consider them a “disaster” and that such a development was foreseeable.
8AM Media: United Front Claims to Have Killed Taliban Intelligence Member
The United Front of Afghanistan has claimed that it killed a member of the Taliban’s intelligence agency in Kandahar province. The group made the claim in a statement posted on its X account on Tuesday afternoon, October 6.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Two Hamas operatives were killed overnight in an Israeli strike after troops spotted them leaving Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF says.
Reuters: Palestinian killed in Israeli settler attack during olive harvest, officials say
A Palestinian was killed on Wednesday during an Israeli settler attack while Palestinians were harvesting olives near the village of Burqa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
On the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 massacre, US-backed Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov urges Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to support US President Donald Trump’s plan for the Strip, warning that failing to implement it will lead either to renewed war or indefinite military containment rather than a durable solution.
Iraq
Shafaq: Kirkuk official warns of ISIS sleeper cells after attacks
Recent ISIS attacks on security forces in Kirkuk’s Hawija district highlight the continuing threat posed by sleeper cells, Ahmed Ramzi Koperlu, head of the Provincial Council’s Security and Defense Committee, warned on Wednesday.
Israel
The National Security Council warned of a heightened risk of terror attacks against Israelis and Jews on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the October 7 onslaught, as security chiefs huddled to discuss threats in the lead-up to Israel’s October 27 Knesset election.
As the country marked the passage of three years since the onset of the multifront war on October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday published new data about its operations on all fronts, from the number of rockets fired at Israel to the number of sites struck by the military.
Chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee MK Simcha Rothman says he wants the first indictments of Palestinians suspected of participating in the October 7, 2023, invasion and massacres to be handed down in the first half of 2027, but adds that the pace of the preparatory process needs to be increased because “the Israeli public is waiting, demanding, and entitled” to see the trials begin.
The Guardian: US, Israeli and European far-right figures to gather for conference in Israel
A National Conservatism (NatCon) conference beginning today in Jerusalem advertises a talk from the Trump administration’s anti-terrorism czar alongside speeches from far-right Israeli politicians, European figures who have faced disciplinary action over alleged antisemitism, and Christian nationalist and far-right figures from the United States.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Geagea says Hezbollah disarmament ‘Lebanese necessity,’ Berri not helping
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has called for the immediate disarmament of Hezbollah, rejecting that the government is acting under international pressure. “Many people think that the Lebanese government has to dismantle Hezbollah because the U.S., the Arabs, and Israel are asking for it,” Geagea said Tuesday. “This is false. Dismantling Hezbollah is a Lebanese necessity and a priority for the Lebanese population before anyone else.”
Naharnet: Hezbollah says Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack a ‘legitimate act of resistance’
The October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel “shook the world and served as a reminder of the Palestinian cause,” Hezbollah said Wednesday in a statement marking three years since the operation, describing the action as “courageous, qualitative, natural, justified, and a legitimate act of resistance given the scale of injustice.”
Syria
Sana: Syrian intelligence arrests ISIS military commander in Homs in security operation
The General Intelligence Service, in cooperation with the Internal Security Command in Damascus Countryside province, arrested Khaled Raed Birouni, who is described as the executive arm of the terrorist ISIS organization in Homs, during a security operation in Hajira town in Damascus Countryside.
Yemen
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed new attacks on airports and military facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as the kingdom is pulled deeper into the latest front in the Iran war, which also threatens a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters: Houthis attack Aden airport as fighting intensifies in Yemen
Yemen's Houthis attacked Aden’s international airport with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones on Wednesday, the country’s Transport Ministry said, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi-backed government forces intensified.
Reuters: Yemeni government fighters shown driving vehicles over Houthi opponents
Video posted by government forces in Yemen showed them driving armoured cars over Houthi fighters as they recaptured areas around the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait from the Iran-backed group on Monday in a deadly new phase of the fragmented country’s war.
AFP: UN agency: More than 200,000 people displaced by recent Yemen fighting
More than 200,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting resumed between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government, says a UN agency.
Mali
Deutsche Welle: Mali: Junta forces retake strategic town of Kidal
Mali's army, supported by Russian paramilitary forces, has re-entered the northern town of Kidal, forcing the Tuareg separatists to withdraw from the strategic hold, in a symbolic boost for the country’s military government and its Russian allies.
Indonesia
The recent arrests of 11 suspected terrorists by authorities in Indonesia underline how terrorism remains a persistent security challenge, with analysts warning that militant networks are communicating online through smaller and decentralised cells despite stronger enforcement.
Australia
The Australian: Sydney dad’s ISIS trial looms after confession in Baghdad
An Iraqi lawyer representing one of 13 Australian men awaiting trial in Baghdad over his alleged affiliation with ISIS says his client has confessed to his involvement with the terror group but also insisted his family was lured to Syria by his eldest son who became a “prince of the caliphate.”
Technology
Africa Defense Forum: Generative AI Alters the Battlefield in Mali
There is an information war being fought in Mali online and on social media platforms. A new study outlines how generative artificial intelligence is being used by state, nonstate and foreign entities to push propaganda and misinformation.
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