The Department of Homeland Security and FBI have issued a Public Service Announcement highlighting potential threats in the US from a variety of actors in response to the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7, as well as additional calls by foreign terrorist organizations to their supporters seeking to foment violence in the West.

"This announcement reflects a fluid and evolving situation; the terrorism threat in the Homeland has remained heightened throughout 2023, but recent events have increased the possibility of potential attacks against individuals and institutions in response to developments in the Middle East.

The volume and frequency of threats to Americans, especially those in the Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities in the United States, have increased, raising our concern that violent extremists and lone offenders motivated by or reacting to ongoing events could target these communities. These threats have included hoax bomb threats targeting houses of worship and violent rhetoric online encouraging attacks."

"Tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories have long been a source of calls for violence against Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities. This history, coupled with the current widespread sharing of graphic and disturbing content related to this conflict, increases the risk of incitement to violence in the United States. DHS and the FBI therefore urge everyone to remain vigilant and to report any threats of violence or suspicious activity to law enforcement."

This PSA aligns perfectly with the messaging of the national assessment released last month by DHS warning that the threat of foreign and domestic terrorism remains high, and that this threat environment is expected to continue well into 2024.

AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages and email, of new alerts, warnings and advisories, or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens.

According to the UK Ministry of Defence:

Over the last week, heavy but inconclusive fighting has continued around the Donetsk Oblast town of Avdiivka, where Russia initiated a major offensive effort in mid-October 2023.

Russia has probably committed elements of up to eight brigades to the sector. These elements have likely suffered some of Russia’s highest casualty rates of 2023 so far.

Russian nationalist ‘mil bloggers’ have been harshly critical of the military’s tactics in the operation. The nature of the operation suggests that Russia’s core military-political challenge remains the same as it has throughout most of the war. Political leaders demand more territory to be seized but the military cannot generate effective operational level offensive action.

Europe Facing Civil War?

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger explained in an interview recently that Europe had made a serious mistake by creating within itself, through mass immigration, populations that reject all its norms, values and a "constitutional basis".

Finally, Europeans will have to do the unthinkable: actually apply their laws. If anyone -- Muslim or non-Muslim -- wants to celebrate the jihadist pogroms against Jews, well, they can go and rejoice in Iran or Qatar. Not in Europe.

~ READ MORE HERE (Gatestone Institute) ~

Three Things about the Israel-Hamas War

Three Things about the Israel-Hamas War is a new series from the Hudson Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East. Every week, Hudson Senior Fellows Michael Doran, Can Kasapoğlu, and Jonathan Schachter will each offer an analysis of one thing—and one thing only—that is of particular importance to understand the Israel-Hamas war. This is an excellent read.

~ READ MORE HERE (Hudson Institute) ~

Rising Anti-Americanism in the Arab / Muslim World

The Joe Biden administration’s show of support for Israel in its war with Hamas has reignited anti-American sentiment in many Arab and Muslim communities.

~ READ MORE HERE (CFR) ~

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Oct 23, 2023 based on U.S. Navy, public data provided by the U.S. Naval Institute, and open source reporting.

AMERICAS

US halts exports of most civilian firearms for 90 days
Victims of Maine mass shooting ranged in age from 14 to 76
White House says Russia is executing its own soldiers for not following orders
U.S. sending more missile defense systems to Middle East
Ecuador to impose power cuts as El Nino hits hydroelectric plants
Colombian local, regional election seen as reflection on Petro
Venezuela launches investigation into opposition's presidential primary
US steps up Guatemala sanctions threat over election dispute
900 US troops heading to Middle East to bolster defenses as attacks surge
Johnson calls to ‘bifurcate’ funding for Ukraine, Israel
Salvadoran leader makes re-election bid official

EUROPE

Belgium maintains level 3 terror threat as high risk remains
Lone wolf terrorists in Europe are not so lonely anymore
The EU prepares for war — and this French ship is the tip of the spear
France deploys one LHD, two frigates to the Eastern Mediterranean
British Navy stops employing Chinese servants on warships over spy fears
Russia sends fighter jets as 2 US bombers, drone approach its border
Serbia and Kosovo leaders break off talks without result
In the first Western reversal, Slovakia to end military aid to Ukraine
Putin oversees Yars ICBM launch in Russia's nuclear drill
Shooting near the Serbia-Hungary border leaves 3 dead

MIDDLE EAST / AFRICA

US fighter jets strike Iran-linked sites in Syria
U.S. carrier moves to Mediterranean, Middle East with aim to contain conflict
US moves carrier to Middle East following attacks on US forces
Drone blasts hit two Egyptian Red Sea towns, Israel points to Houthi
Gaza under blackout as Israel reports 'good progress' in war against Hamas
Israel pounds Gaza with non-stop strikes after overnight bombing chaos
Qatar sentences 8 former Indian naval officers to death ‘for spying for Israel’
Fearing airstrikes and crowded shelters, Palestinians stay in north Gaza
Israeli troops raid Gaza as Arab nations condemn bombardment
The Hamas tunnel city beneath Gaza — a hidden frontline for Israel
Israel says Houthi missile hit Egyptian Read Sea town
Sudan army, paramilitary RSF to return to negotiations
The World Bank approved a $1B loan to help S. Africa’s energy sector
Senegal's main opposition leader Sonko enters coma during hunger strike

ASIA / OCEANIA

Will the Israel-Hamas war upend China’s Middle East ambitions?
Tense moment Chinese fighter jet 'comes close to colliding' with B-52
India resumes visa services in Canada after row over killing of Sikh
IAEA conducts first safety review of Fukushima water since release
A year after deadly South Korean crush, families fight for accountability
Rumours swirl after China’s defence minister, Li Shangfu, is sacked
Australian police charge 7 with laundering hundreds of millions for Chinese
Students detained as they try to hold protest near Israeli embassy in Delhi
As China looks to broker Gaza peace, antisemitism surges online
What China’s slow-motion real estate crisis means for the global economy

PUBLIC HEALTH

Canadian father files $35M lawsuit against Pfizer over son's vax death
Why are death and disability rising among young Americans?
New deadly bird flu cases reported in Iowa, joining 3 other states