U.S. Navy Destroyer in Red Sea Intercepts Houthi Cruise Missiles Launched toward Israel - Luis Martinez (ABC News)
    The USS Carney, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer in the northern Red Sea, on Thursday shot down three land attack cruise missiles and eight drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen that the Pentagon said were potentially headed toward targets in Israel.
    "They were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea potentially to targets in Israel," said Pentagon spokesman Brig.-Gen. Pat Ryder.
    On Wednesday, three drones were shot down by U.S. military forces as they neared bases in western and northern Iraq. Another drone was shot down near U.S. forces in eastern Syria on Thursday.

U.S. to Send 2 Iron Dome Batteries to Israel - Barak Ravid (Axios)
    The U.S. is planning to send two Iron Dome batteries to help bolster Israel's defense capabilities along the Israel-Lebanon border, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.
    The U.S. had previously purchased the batteries from Israel.

Hamas: We Have Captured Enough Israeli Soldiers to Negotiate Release of All Palestinian Prisoners (Reuters)
    Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said on Thursday that the group has a number of Israeli soldiers held as hostages, which are enough to negotiate releasing all the Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Not All Israeli Hostages Are Being Held by Hamas - Maria Abi-Habib (New York Times)
    Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas' political bureau in Lebanon, said Thursday that not all of the Israeli hostages who were taken to Gaza are being held by his group, a claim that will most likely complicate negotiations for their release.
    He said other groups, specifically Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is also holding some of the hostages.
    A spokesman for Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Musab Al-Breim, said that the group had around "30 prisoners."

Video: Massacre in Israel from the Eyes of Hamas (Israel Defense Forces-Ynet News)
    The IDF on Wednesday released graphic footage of the massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, captured by local cameras, dashcams, and bodycams retrieved from Hamas terrorists.
    The video documents how Hamas methodically forced their way into homes in Kibbutz Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Kissufim, and Kibbutz Re'im.
    Some Israeli victims were kept alive and used as bait to lure others into opening their doors.

Hamas Terrorists Took Captagon Pills to Help Them Slaughter Israelis (Walla-Jerusalem Post)
    Hamas terrorists who carried out the attack on Oct. 7 were under the influence of Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant, Israel's Channel 12 reported.
    The pills were recovered from the pockets of many terrorists.
    The drug allowed the terrorists to commit heinous acts with a sense of calmness and indifference, while it kept them highly alert for extended periods.
    Captagon was also used by ISIS fighters.

Bedouin Bus Driver Saved 30 People from Hamas Massacre - Deborah Danan (JTA)
    On Oct. 7, Youssef Ziadna, 47, an Arab Bedouin from the Israeli city of Rahat, rescued 30 Jewish Israelis from the massacre at the outdoor party near Re'im, dodging bullets and veering off-road to bring them to safety.
    Ziadna had driven 9 Israelis from the town of Omer to the rave at Kibbutz Re'im. At 6 a.m. on Oct. 7 he received a call for help from them and raced to the scene of the party, where an inferno of bodies, blood and bullets reigned.
    24 additional people crammed into the 14-seat minibus, and on the way, they rescued another couple.
    Ziadna says he also caught sight of a motorized Hamas paraglider hovering above, spraying bullets with a machine gun.
    Under constant gunfire, the minibus sped away. Ziadna's intimate knowledge of the terrain proved lifesaving, and he was able to cut a route through dirt roads, avoiding the main thoroughfare where terrorists were ambushing escapees. Many other cars followed his vehicle.
    Ziadna is grieving a cousin who was murdered during the attack and worrying about four other family members who remain missing.

Israeli Progressives See Disturbing Trend in Progressive Political Culture - Ran Heilbrunn (Newsweek)
    We 75 Israel-based academics, thought leaders and progressive activists committed to peace, equality, justice, and human rights, are deeply concerned by the inadequate response from certain American and European progressives regarding the targeting of Israeli civilians by Hamas.
    Many of our peers worldwide have expressed strong opposition to Hamas' attack and have offered unambiguous support for its victims.
    Prominent voices in the Arab world, too, have made it clear that there is no justification for sadistic murder of innocent people.
    However, to our dismay, some individuals who were, until now, our political partners have reacted with indifference to these horrific events and sometimes even justified Hamas' actions.
    There are even those - no small number - for whom the darkest day in our society's history was a cause for celebration.
    We never imagined that advocates of equality, freedom, justice, and welfare would reveal such extreme moral insensitivity and political recklessness.
    Hamas is a theocratic and repressive organization that vehemently opposes the attempt to promote peace and equality in the Middle East.
    Its core commitments are fundamentally inconsistent with progressive principles, and thus the inclination of certain people to react affirmatively to its actions is utterly absurd.