As Israel's military prepares for a massive, unprecedented ground war in Gaza, it's important to understand why: Israelis haven't felt this threatened since their war of independence in 1948, Axios' Barak Ravid writes.

• Why it matters: Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7 killed more Jews in one day — more than 1,300 — than any other day since the Holocaust. For a country that vowed "never again," the brutal killings and video-documented kidnappings were a shock to the national psyche — and a stunning breach of a trusted security system.

Israelis have seen horrific images of dead soldiers and babies who allegedly were shot and their bodies burned, as well as video of elderly Holocaust survivors, young women and entire families kidnapped.

• For days, the shocks rippled across Israel — scenes from a massacre at a music festival where 260 young Israelis were killed, and from ransacked and bloodied villages near the Gaza border, strewn with bodies.
• Israelis' outrage was exacerbated by videos with alleged Hamas operatives telling authorities that kidnapped women and children were taken to Gaza to be raped.

Zoom in: Support for a war whose goal would be to eliminate Hamas' military capabilities appears to have broad support across Israel's political spectrum — including among liberals most sympathetic to Palestinians.

• "The state of Israel was established so that Jews will not have to hide defenseless in closets and basements," Yuval Noah Harari, a history professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote on Ynet, a Hebrew-language news website based in Israel.

Some peace activists who've expressed concern about Israel limiting rights and economic opportunities to Palestinians in Gaza — and about Israel's occupation of the West Bank since 1967 — say they understand the calls for swift retribution in Gaza.

• "Even Israel's conduct and its crimes in the occupied territories for 56 years cannot justify or soften what has been laid bare: the depth of hatred towards Israel, the painful understanding that we Israelis will always have to live here in heightened alertness and constant preparedness for war," author and peace activist David Grossman wrote in Haaretz, a liberal Hebrew-language newspaper.

Between the lines: Hamas — which took over Gaza in a military coup in 2007, ousting the Palestinian Authority — follows an ideology that calls for the destruction of Israel.

• Hamas didn't try to occupy territory like an army in a war. Written secret orders captured on the bodies of Hamas commanders indicated the militants' intent was to kill and kidnap as many civilians as possible.

Many Palestinians — including those in Gaza — haven't backed Hamas. But support for the Islamic movement has increased in recent years. Some Palestinians see Hamas as freedom fighters, striking back against years of oppression by Israel that followed the 2007 coup.

• After the coup, Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza that resulted in dire humanitarian conditions, growing poverty — and simmering anger among Palestinians.
• Hamas, with help from Iran, has raised and spent billions of dollars building up its military capabilities — including tens of thousands of rockets and a tunnel system used to smuggle goods and launch attacks.

Keep reading ... This coverage is part of our continuing "Axios explains" series, answering big questions about the war. Coming soon: A companion piece about the Palestinian view.

After 14 days with no House speaker, Republicans are the closest they've been to filling the chair — but aren't there yet.

• House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), 59, co-founder of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, hopes he'll be elected speaker this afternoon.
• But even if he wins, it could take multiple ballots — I'm hearing three might be the charm.

🔎 Behind the scenes: There's been a massive push to get House Republicans to unify around Jordan — calls to member offices, conservative TV hosts ramping up the pressure on skeptics, and MAGA influencers taking aim at hesitant members on social media, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.

• Scoop: GOP lawmakers told Axios that Jordan suggested he'd be willing to link votes on aid to Israel and Ukraine. Jordan's team says he made no specific promises.

Jordan was endorsed for speaker by President Trump and Fox News' Sean Hannity.

• Jordan bio ... Share this story.

As the expected invasion of Gaza threatens to create massive numbers of Palestinian refugees, all of the leading Republican presidential candidates are saying: Those refugees shouldn't be allowed here.

• Why it matters: Republicans are rushing to take hardline positions even though President Biden hasn't said he'll accept any refugees, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.

Context: Former President Trump wants to ban travel from Gaza and predominantly Muslim countries including Syria, Somalia, Yemen and Libya.

• It would repeat a ban he implemented that was reversed by Biden.

Trump's remarks followed those of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said last weekend the U.S. shouldn't take in any Palestinian refugees fleeing Gaza.

• The three other leading GOP contenders — Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley — also say the U.S. shouldn't accept Gaza refugees, with some differences.

Reality check: There are no ongoing discussions of Gaza refugees coming to the U.S., officials say. The more than 2 million people in Gaza are locked on land surrounded by blockades imposed by Israel and Egypt.

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Big Tech companies that began to walk back content moderation ahead of the 2024 election are now starting to implement new rules amid the Israel-Hamas war, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

• Why it matters: The level of mis- and disinformation flooding the internet is forcing tech firms to take tougher positions at a time when they're trying to prove they don't bow to political pressure.

Flashback: Most tech companies cut back on the size of their safety and security teams in the wake of mass layoffs across the sector earlier this year.

What's happening: Meta on Friday said it's developed a "special operations center" staffed with experts, including fluent Hebrew and Arabic speakers.

• It's also working to avoid recommending potentially violative content across Facebook, Instagram and Threads by lowering the threshold at which its tech will start to block recommendations.
• Given Hamas' threats to broadcast footage of hostages, Meta said its teams will remove any such content.

TikTok says it will add more content moderators who speak Arabic and Hebrew. It plans misinformation warnings for users searching for certain keywords in Hebrew, Arabic and English.

• Keep reading ... Sign up for Sara Fischer's weekly Axios Media Trends, out later today.

Marc Andreessen — browser developer turned blogger turned billionaire venture capitalist — posted a "Techno-Optimist Manifesto" that denounces efforts to regulate technology in brasher strokes than Silicon Valley has heard in years, Axios global tech correspondent Ryan Heath writes.

• Why it matters: Andreessen often says out loud what some other technologists and investors think. He has the ear of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and is a star guest at Schumer's next AI expert forum, a week from today.

Andreessen concocts a heady, sometimes over-the-top brew of fundamentalist free-market economics, Darwinism and Ayn Randism.

• He writes that because AI might be used to save lives, any pause on AI development which limits preventable deaths "is a form of murder."

AI is "our alchemy, our Philosopher's Stone," he writes. "We are literally making sand think" — a reference to the silicon in computer chips.

• Read the manifesto ... Share this story.

A multifaith coalition of U.S. colleges and universities today will issue a public statement supporting Israel and opposing Hamas, Axios' Dan Primack reports.

• Why it matters: Several top schools have been criticized for how they've communicated about the terrorist attacks.

Founding signees include presidents of Jewish schools (Yeshiva), Catholic schools (Notre Dame), historically Black universities (Dillard), Christian schools (Baylor), and public systems (SUNY and CUNY).

• Read the statement.

... of the war in Ukraine.

• Ukraine launched a counteroffensive about four months ago. It has made some headway — but the limited success shows the daunting challenge of taking on the Kremlin's more numerous forces, AP reports.

Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott warms up before "Monday Night Football" in Inglewood, Calif., last night. Cowboys won, 20-17.

• Heading into Week 7, no NFL team is undefeated, after upsets Sunday of the 49ers and Eagles. Keep reading.