Axios

Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed on Sunday Axios' report that the IDF found a USB key with instructions for producing a "cyanide dispersion device" on the body of a Hamas operative who participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

The big picture: Herzog's comments in an interview with Sky News are part of a wider Israeli diplomatic effort to mobilize support in the West for the Israeli operation against Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that the Pentagon will send more U.S. missile and air defense systems to the Middle East due to a "prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops throughout the region."

Driving the news: There has been an increase in attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the latest fighting began between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Thousands of U.S. military personnel have been shifted around the globe or told to prepare for deployment.

Why it matters: The Pentagon has scrambled to dispatch significant military might to the Middle East since the terrorist attack on Israel two weeks ago.

The U.S. on Saturday circulated a draft resolution to UN Security Council members condemning Hamas for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, a U.S. official and a Western diplomat said.

The big picture: The resolution doesn't call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO and co-founder of Web Summit, one of the world’s biggest tech conference companies, resigned on Saturday, following blowback to comments he made last week about the Hamas-Israel war.

Why it matters: The remarks led a slew of major companies, speakers and sponsors to withdraw from the event, including Amazon, Meta, Google and Intel.

The Israeli military found a USB key with instructions for the production of a "cyanide dispersion device" on the body of a Hamas operative who participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, according to two Israeli officials and a copy of a classified Israeli Foreign Ministry cable obtained by Axios.

The big picture: It is not clear from the file whether Hamas had any serious or operational plan for using makeshift chemical weapons or whether the group had attempted to produce them.

The Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack and Israel's response come amid the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The big picture: The broader conflict is complex and carries its own lexicon of terms and meanings.

President Biden is taking a dual-track approach to the Gaza crisis — standing staunchly beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in public while trying to hold him back in private.

The big picture: The U.S. supports Israel but doesn't want to get drawn into another large or protracted military operation in the Middle East. Threading that needle is the Biden administration's biggest challenge right now.

Gaza and its more than 2.1 million people have been under constant Israeli bombardment since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

The big picture: Israel has also imposed a "complete siege" of Gaza — worsening what were already dire conditions due to Israel's 16-year blockade. The Israeli military is now beginning ground operations in the small coastal enclave that could descend into prolonged urban warfare.

The war between Israel and Hamas has already spilled into neighboring countries in the form of street protests and even cross-border strikes.

Why it matters: Israel’s neighbors fear the prospect of further domestic unrest and a massive influx of refugees as the conflict deepens. Israel, meanwhile, fears that a second front could open on the border with Lebanon.

Israel has for decades established itself as one of the most formidable and technologically advanced military powers in the Middle East.

Why it matters: With an annual military budget exceeding $20 billion and access to some of the most advanced U.S. military hardware, Israel controls the skies and much of the sea around its territory, and it has superior cyber capabilities.

The military arm of Hamas has for more than three decades relied on guerrilla warfare-style tactics in its attacks against Israel, using rockets, snipers, improvised explosive devices and underground tunnels.

Driving the news: The multipronged terrorist attack on Oct. 7 from land, air and sea was unprecedented in its scale and sophistication. Now Hamas is facing what is likely to be an equally unprecedented Israeli ground offensive.

Hamas on Friday released two U.S. citizens it was holding hostage in Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed.

The big picture: Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S., said it released a mother and her teenage daughter on humanitarian grounds following Qatar mediation efforts. Hamas took roughly 200 people hostage during its Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, according to Israeli officials.

Iran and the militant groups it backs are forcing Israel and the U.S. to contend with the possibility that the Israel-Hamas war could explode into a wider regional conflagration.

The big picture: President Biden's visit to Israel — paired with the movement of U.S. warships and aircraft into the region — was intended in part as a warning to Iran.