Israeli troops entered southwestern Syria in the early hours of Thursday and arrested several people who the Israeli military said were members of Palestinian militant group Hamas but which Syria's interior ministry said were civilians.

But as law enforcement investigates the violent incidents -- from the New Orleans truck rampage to the Molotov cocktail attack in Boulder -- some counterterrorism experts say they're worried the federal government has taken its eye "off the ball" in preventing terrorism as its priorities shift -- from counterterrorism to mass deportation.

Israel is arming local militias in Gaza in an effort to counter Hamas in the besieged enclave, officials say, as opposition politicians warned that the move endangers national security.

Israel's leader says arming "clans in Gaza" to help fight Hamas will save lives. Opposition leaders say the weapons "will eventually be turned against" Israelis.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said Iran, its strategic ally, was "paying the price" for supporting militant groups in Gaza in their decades-long struggle against Israel, after Israel launched large-scale attacks on Friday against Iran.

The Israeli military recovered the bodies of two dead hostages in southern Gaza Wednesday night, including Yair Yaakov, a 59-year-old dad who was killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist

The family of a Nepali man taken captive by the Palestinian militant group Hamas has appealed to his captors for his release, stressing that he has no involvement in the conflict in Gaza

The vote was the most serious challenge to Netanyahu’s government since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which was the biggest security failure in Israel’s history.