Israel expands ground operations in Gaza as Netanyahu announces 'second stage' of war against Hamas

Since the Oct. 7 attacks committed by Hamas against Israel, protests have broken out across the world seemingly supporting the terror group and condemning the Jewish State, which is still reeling from the murder of over 1,400 Israelis.

But perhaps the most extreme displays from the Hamas-sympathizing supporters are coming from American college campuses.

Here are some examples of the jarring actions and rhetoric coming from both students and professors alike.

More than 30 student groups at Harvard co-signed a letter declaring they "hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."

New York University students were caught tearing down posters of Israeli hostages Oct. 16 outside the university's Tisch Hall.

University of California-Davis assistant professor Jemma Decristo had an ominous message appearing to threaten what she called "Zionist journalists" and their families.

A bizarre incident was reported out of Stanford University where an instructor allegedly asked Jewish and Israeli students to identify themselves. Three students told Rabbi Dov Greenberg, director of the Chabad Stanford Jewish Center, that the instructor told them to gather their belongings and stand in the corner because "this is what Israel does to the Palestinians."

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Faced with spiking antisemitism and flaring tensions following Hamas’ attacks on Israel, Jews in Los Angeles are increasingly turning to gun ownership, self-defense classes and armed security for safety, according to a rabbi who has been training Jewish religious leaders for years.

"Growing up Orthodox, people hating Jews has been a part of my life," Rabbi Yossi Eilfort, a former MMA fighter, told Fox News Digital in a recent phone interview. "A lot of people complain; I want people to act. And so I was trying to inspire people to take some level of action."

Eilfort is the founder of Magen Am USA, the only Jewish, nonprofit organization licensed on the West Coast to provide armed security services.

His nonprofit, which operates in LA and Phoenix, trains volunteers and community members in extensive classes on gun safety, hand-to-hand self-defense, de-escalation, verbal tactics and the use of intermediate weapons such as Tasers or batons.

Eilfort was a full-time rabbi until 2020, when calls to defund the police reverberated across America following the death of George Floyd, igniting social justice protests and riots at a time when the coronavirus and lockdowns upended society.

Eilfort’s security teams stepped in and assisted with preventing home invasions as police contended with a local crime wave, he said. By May of that year, he devoted his time completely to Magen Am and helping ensure that schools, synagogues and other Jewish centers were protected from potential attacks and crime.

Since then, he’s "100%" seen an increase among Jews in the LA area embracing the Second Amendment, he said.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Saudi Arabia’s defense minister is set to visit the White House this week in a bid to tamp down regional tensions in the Middle East after the kingdom reportedly shot down a missile fired from Yemen that was intended for Israel.

"I can tell you that Saudi Arabia wants to make sure that the U.S. fully understands the humongous ramifications of the Israeli ground invasion into Gaza," Salman Al-Ansari, an independent Saudi Arabian geopolitical analyst, told Fox News Digital. "Riyad wants D.C. to think critically and to not fall into supporting decisions that may fire back at the U.S. interests and the whole region."

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman is set to visit Washington on Monday to talk with senior Biden administration officials, Axios reported after speaking with three sources with knowledge of the trip. Bin Salman, the brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and former ambassador to the U.S., would be the highest-ranking Saudi official to visit Washington since Biden took office.

The meetings will include national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and several others, according to the report.

Saudi Arabia warned Saturday that "any ground operation by Israel would threaten the lives of Palestinian civilians and result in inhumane dangers."

Fox News' Peter Aitken contributed to this report.

The White House said Sunday it "vigorously condemns" the group of pro-Palestinian rioters in Russia who flooded an airport as they were shouting antisemitic chants and reportedly searching for passengers from a flight that departed from Tel Aviv, Israel.

The airport, located in the city of Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan, closed after rioters began flooding the runway Sunday night, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia reported. All other flights headed toward Makhachkala were diverted.

In the first public comment made by the Biden administration since the incident, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the U.S. condemns the "antisemitic protests" at the airport in Russia.

"The United States vigorously condemns the antisemitic protests in Dagestan, Russia," Watson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The U.S. unequivocally stands with the entire Jewish community as we witness a worldwide surge in antisemitism. There is never any excuse or justification for antisemitism."

Many users on X blasted Watson's post for referring to the riot as a "protest," with some people replying that the correct term would be "pogrom," which means attacks on particular ethnic groups, particularly Jewish people.

The Israeli Defense Forces said Monday morning that its ground attack in Gaza expanded overnight.

"An IAF aircraft—guided by ground forces—struck a Hamas post and the 20+ terrorist operatives in it," the IDF wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"Soldiers spotted armed terrorists and an anti-tank missile launching post near the Al-Azhar University and guided an IAF fighter jet to strike them," the post continued.

The IDF added that its forces "eliminated multiple terrorists barricaded within civilian buildings and terrorist tunnels who attempted to attack the forces."

Cornell University police and the FBI are investigating a series of threats made against the New York school’s Jewish community.

The threats were posted to a website not affiliated with the university and targeted "104 West," where the Center of Jewish Living is located on campus.

One of the threats called for people to follow a Jewish person home and "slit their throats," adding, "Rats need to be eliminated from Cornell."

The Steven K. and Winifred A. Grinspoon Hillel Center at the university said it was aware of the threats, in a social media post, saying the Cornell Police Department is monitoring the situation and on the scene at 104 West.

"At this time, we advise that students and staff avoid the building out of an abundance of caution," the post read.

School President Martha E. Pollack also issued a statement about the threats, calling the messages "horrendous."

Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

President Biden had a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday morning, with the two leaders discussing ongoing airstrikes in Gaza.

According to the White House, Biden reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defense, but cautioned to defend itself in a humanitarian way.

"The President reiterated that Israel has every right and responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism and underscored the need to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians," the White House said in a statement. "The President and Prime Minister discussed ongoing efforts to locate and secure the release of hostages, to include American citizens who remain unaccounted for and may be held by Hamas."

"The President underscored the need to immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza," the statement added. "The President and the Prime Minister agreed to remain in regular consultation both directly and through their respective national security teams."

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 8,005 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, including more than 3,000 minors and 2,000 women. At least 1,400 Israelis have been murdered, mostly civilians.

Jordan, a Middle Eastern country that is allied with the United States and has had peaceful relations with its neighbor Israel since 1994, has asked the American government to deploy Patriot air defense systems amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The request comes as the country is threatened with regional conflict as a result of Hamas' terrorists' attack on Israel on October 7. The country's leaders worry that Israel's airstrikes in Gaza could threaten the entire Levant.

"We asked the American side to help bolster our defense system with Patriot air defense missile systems," Jordanian military spokesperson Brigadier General Mustafa Hiyari confirmed.

The U.S. stationed Patriot missiles in Jordan in 2013 when unrest in Syria - Jordan's northern neighbor - became a concern for the kingdom. The Patriot, a sophisticated air defense system, is highly sought-after by American allies.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Makhachkala riots on Sunday night, in which a group of anti-Israeli protestors stormed a Russian airport and reportedly yelled anti-Semitic statements.

"Appalling videos from Makhachkala, Russia, where an angry mob broke into the airport searching for Israeli citizens on the flight from Tel-Aviv," Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"This is not an isolated incident in Makhachkala, but rather part of Russia’s widespread culture of hatred toward other nations, which is propagated by state television, pundits, and authorities," he continued.

Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, then accused high-ranking Russian officials of harboring hatred towards Jews.

"The Russian foreign minister has made a series of antisemitic remarks in the last year. The Russian President also used antisemitic slurs," the Ukrainian leader explained. "For Russian propaganda talking heads on official television, hate rhetoric is routine. Even the most recent Middle East escalation prompted antisemitic statements from Russian ideologists."

"Russian antisemitism and hatred toward other nations are systemic and deeply rooted," he added. "Hatred is what drives aggression and terror. We must all work together to oppose hatred."

A group of Pro-Palestinian rioters stormed an airport in southwestern Russia Sunday night while chanting anti-Israel comments, searching for passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv, according to Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia. 

"It is terrifying to think what could be happening to Russian Jews again. For 20 years, Putin has pursued largely a pro-Jewish, pro-Israel policies. If he doesn’t do it right, this will spill over and destabilize Muslim populated regions in Russia and may even spark terrorism in bigger cities again," Foreign affairs expert Rebekah Koffler told Fox News Digital.

Koffler added that the situation "could be a big problem for Putin" if the protests are not contained.

According to Rosaviatsia, the airport, which is in the city of Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan, closed after rioters began flooding the runway, "isolating" a small number of Jews.

Reuters and Fox News Digital's Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.

Telecommunications providers in Gaza have reported that residents are getting their phone and Internet service back, two days after it was abruptly cut off.

The blackout began on Friday night amid the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)'s expansion of their ground operations in the Gaza Strip. Only a small number of Palestinians with international SIM cards or satellite phone service were able to get online or call.

Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org confirmed that Internet service was restored by Sunday night.

The Israeli military has been maintaining a "total siege" over the Gaza Strip, with residents struggling to find food, water or basic health necessities. Residents reportedly looted aid warehouses in search of help.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The number of confirmed hostages in Gaza has risen to 239 people, as the war between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas terrorists enters its fourth week.

The figure is an increase from the previously estimated number of 229 captives. The majority of the hostages are Israelis, but at least 10 are believed to be American citizens. 54 of the hostages are Thai, according to the Israeli government.

The Israeli government has made it a central goal to rescue the hostages, which were taken after Hamas began attacking on October 7. Only four captives have been released so far.

The IDF has been intensifying its airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, where residents have struggled with securing food and basic items. Hamas's health ministry estimates that over 7,300 Palestinians have been killed.

Fox News Digital's Trey Yingst and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria, who has been ridiculed by members of the Syrian opposition, says that they have no right to weep for Palestinians in Gaza as thousands of Syrian-Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed and imprisoned as the war on Hamas continues, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

"They murdered Palestinian children in the Al-Yarmouk [refugee camp] in Rif Damascus – and now are pretending they weep for those in Gaza. This is the nature of the Syrian regime, and its bullies who trade in [the Palestinian cause]," Syrian activist Marea Othman wrote on X.

Many people took to social media arguing that no help for Gaza should be expected from the Syrian regime that had murdered many Syrians and Palestinians in Syria.

"With regard to Palestine's war with Israel, I will wish Arab Palestine victory with all my heart – but if there is an Israeli war with the Syrian regime, I will absolutely take Israel's side," Akad Al-Jabal account stated on X.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant met with Israeli hostages' families amid the country's war against Hamas on Sunday.

Gallant told the families that Israel "is determined to win the war," which began on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on October 7, when Hamas terrorists assaulted Israeli villages and massacred civilians including children.

“It was important for me to meet and hear from you. Returning the hostages and tracking missing Israelis is a mission of utmost importance," Gallant said. "I have two goals: returning those who were kidnapped and winning this war."

"All the rest is less important right now," he added.

The official also accused Hamas of conducting psychological warfare regarding their communications about the captives.

“The stories published by Hamas are part of their psychological games – and these take a heavy toll on the entire nation of Israel," he explained. "Hamas is cynically using those who are dear to us – they understand the pain and the pressure.”

Fox News Digital's Yael Rotem-Kuriel contributed to this report.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog confirmed that President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone Sunday morning.

Herzog confirmed the call during an appearance on Fox News, saying the two leaders remained in constant contact. Neither the U.S. nor Israel has offered details regarding the pair's conversation, but it comes as the Israeli military is entering the "second stage" of its war against Hamas.

Israeli Defense Forces had relied mostly on airstrikes and artillery for the first three weeks of the war, but they are now beinging extensive ground operations in northern Gaza.

Biden's administration has fully endorsed Israel's right to defend itself and to retaliate against Hamas for the October 7 massacre. He has urged Israel to do all it can to minimize civilian casualties, however.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday said he stands by the decision to decertify any pro-Palestinian student groups that side with Hamas from state college campuses, arguing that to allow these groups to openly side with "brutal terrorist organizations" is like committing "suicide as a country."

DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, appeared on NBC’s "Meet the Press," saying that the pro-Palestinian solidarity group had also claimed to be part of the Hamas movement.

"This is not cancel culture, this group, they themselves said in the aftermath of the Hamas attack that they don't just stand in solidarity, that they are part of this Hamas movement," he said. "And so, yeah, you have a right to go out and demonstrate, but you can't provide material support to terrorism. They've linked themselves to Hamas, and so we absolutely decertified them."

Last week, the chancellor of the state’s university system penned a letter stating that a student group present in at least two universities in the Florida system, known as National Students for Justice in Palestine (National SJP), published a "toolkit" that refers to the Hamas operation as "the resistance" and says that "Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement."

DeSantis said he believes the move is "totally justified within the law," which states that it is a felony under Florida law to knowingly provide material aid or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. 

"Their own words are saying they're part of this organization, that they don't just stand in solidarity, that they don't just support what they did, but that this is their movement, too," DeSantis said. "So once you hitch your wagon to a group like Hamas, that takes you out of the realm of normal activity, and that's something that we're going to take action against."

Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report

The future of Gaza could be "tremendous" if the region is placed under the correct leadership, former President Donald Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, said Sunday.

Kushner made the statement during a Sunday appearance on Fox News after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia. Kushner, who helped negotiate the Abraham Accords under Trump's administration, says there remains enthusiasm in Saudi Arabia for the normalization of ties with Israel.

"If only there was proper leadership that cared more about creating opportunity for their people than trying to destroy Israel and perpetuate antisemitism, the possibilities could be really tremendous," Kushner said.

He added that the Saudis remain concerned for the wellbeing of innocent Palestinians in Gaza as Israel ramps up the second stage of its campaign against Hamas.

Israel should take responsibility for protecting innocent civilians in Gaza even though Hamas is using them as human shields, Biden administration national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday, as Israeli forces continue to bombard the Gaza Strip following the deadly terrorist attack more than three weeks ago.

Sullivan appeared on CNN's "State of the Union," saying the Israeli government should take every possible action to distinguish terrorists from civilians during its ongoing operations.

"Hamas is making life extremely difficult for Israel by taking civilians as human shields and putting their rocket infrastructure and terrorist infrastructure among civilians," Sullivan said. "That creates an added burden for Israel, but it does not lessen Israel’s responsibility under international humanitarian law to distinguish between terrorist and civilians and protect lives of innocent people."

Sullivan added: "And that is the overwhelming majority of the people in Gaza."

While Sullivan said President Biden will speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later Sunday about protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza, he added that the U.S. has already been holding conversations behind closed doors about protecting civilians.

Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

Sen. Hames Lankford, R-Ok., says any delay to Israel plans begin a ground invasion of Gaza will ultimately benefit Hamas.

Lankford made teh statement during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" with host Jake tapper. Tapper asked the senator whether a delay was wise and whether an invasion could trigger the killings of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

"Hamas has about 500 miles' worth of tunnels underneath all of the area in Gaza. So it's a very complicated environment to be able to hide hostages. Right now, Israel is trying to be able to bombard some of those areas. They know where there is Hamas fighters, where there are leadership, and where there are key whether ammunition depot, missile storage, or, obviously, where their military typically functions underground," Lankford wrote.

"But going after hostages is incredibly difficult in an urban environment, because no one knows where they are. Hamas is obviously trickling them out...But if you stop right now and if you pause, it gives opportunity for Hamas to dig in more and to be able to lay more booby traps," he added.

Lankford went on to acknowledge that the safety of the hostages in Gaza, numbering at least 229, is a top priority.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan declared that the organization has "completely lost" its legitimacy on Sunday.

Gilad made the comments Sunday morning on Fox News in reaction to a vote by the U.N. General Assembly approving a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Israel that didn't mention either Hamas or the 229 hostages currently in Gaza.

"I've been serving there [the U.N.] for three years, but I would have never drempt that after a massacre--nearly 1,500 babies and women and the elderly--the U.N. cannot even unite to condemn a designated terrorist organization similar to ISIS or even to the Nazis," Gilad said. "It is something that is truly unfathomable."

"I believe the U.N. on Friday completely lost its legitimacy, it's relevance," he added. "Today, not only is the U.N. not committed to preventing atrocities, it is committed to ensuring they will happen again."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., warned President Biden that his reponse to Israel's war against Hamas may cost him the votes of U.S. Muslims.

Jayapal made the comments during a Sunday morning appearance on "Meet the Press" with host Kristen Welker. Welker asked whether Jayapal was concerned Biden's response to the conflict could weaken his chances in the 2024 presidential election.

"I have been one of President Biden's biggest supporters. I have been proud to be a partner as he has been courageous and strong on the domestic front," Jayapal responded. "The president needs to be just as courageous on this issue so that we keep the unity within our country."

"He is, I think, going to be challenged to explain an issue of this moral significance to the American people," she added. "The American people are actually quite far away from where the president and even the majority of Congress has been on Israel and Gaza.'

[Americans] support the right for Israel to defend itself and to exist, but they do not support a war crime exchanged for another war crime, and I think the president has to be careful about that. I would call on him...to bring us to a higher place," she finished.

U.S. four-star retired Gen. Jack Keane joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss Israel’s military strategy as they begin the ‘second phase’ of their war on Hamas on Sunday.

Keane blasted Hamas as a terror organization that has been in the "hostage-taking business" since at least the 1980s. Hamas is believed to have taken 229 hostages into Gaza during its October 7 massacre in Israel.

Israel, the U.S. and other nations have sought to negotiate the release of hostages for nearly a month.

Israeli Defense Forces say they are entering the second stage of their war against Hamas this week, greatly ramping up ground operations in Gaza.

Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová is calling for the Czech Republic to abandon the United Nations after the General Assembly approved a resolution calling for a ceasfire in Israel.

The resolution made no mention of Hamas nor the hundreds of hostaged the terrorist organization took during its October 7 massacre in Israel. Černochová posted on social media that the resolution indicated that her country has no place in the U.N.

"Exactly 3 weeks ago, Hamas murdered over 1400 Israelis, more victims for their population than the militant Islamist organization al-Qaeda murdered in the US on 9/11. And only 14 countries, including ours, have spoken out clearly and understandably against this unprecedented terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas terrorists. I am ashamed of the UN. In my opinion, the Czech Republic has no place in an organization that cheers on terrorists and does not respect the fundamental right to self-defence. Let's get out," she wrote.

Only 14 countries voted against the ceasfire resolution: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States.

An Israeli mother who survived Hamas' brutal attack is pleading for the world to help get home the children being held captive, including her youngest son's best friend.

Hamas is believed to have taken 229 hostages during the terrorist group's Oct. 7 surprise attack, including at least 20 kids, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Gal Piechowicz suspects 11-year-old Gal Goldstein was among those, along with three of his other family members.

"I want Gal to come back and know that the whole community and all the citizens and all the world did the best that we could to bring him back home," Piechowicz, an Israeli mother of three, told Fox News. Kids "should never, ever, ever be a part of a political game."

Brown and white blindfolded teddy bears were lined up in Tel Aviv to represent the children held captive in Gaza on Wednesday. The bears appeared to be dabbed with fake blood.

"Those babies should be back home, and we should do whatever we can to echo and repeat this message and ask the whole world to come and join us with this demand," Piechowicz said. "They are not part of this game, and they should come back home now."

Fox News' Megan Myers contributed to this report

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says Pelestinian deaths have passed 8,000 in the ongoing war with Israel on Sunday.

Israel and the U.S. have repeatedly rejected the accuracy of the Gaza ministry's casualty estimates, saying they are little more than Hamas propaganda. The terrorist organization has been known to inflate casualty statistics, as it appeared to do in the case of a blast at a Gaza hospital earlier this month.

Nevertheless, the organization claims that Israeli forces have killed 8,005 people since Israel begain its retaliatory campaign against Hamas on October 7. It claims most of those casualties are women and children.

The milestone comes as the Israeli military has enterd the second stage of its war on Hamas, greatly ramping up its ground operations within Gaza.

President Biden and the White House have repeatedly rejected the accuracy of Hamas' casualty statistics, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby sparring with reporters on the topic last week.

"We all know that the Gaza Ministry of Health is just a front for Hamas, it's run by Hamas, a terrorist organization," Kirby responded. "I've said it myself up here, we can't take anything coming out of Hamas, including the so-called Ministry of Health, at face value."

Allegations of recurring United Nations anti-Israel activity, including accusations that United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres seemed to rationalize Hamas' murder of 1,400 people — illustrate the world body's obsession with the Jewish state.

"Of course, (Guterres) should resign," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. "Many aspects of the U.N., like the Human Rights Council and UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), are either antisemitic or give cover for terrorism or both. The behavior of the secretary-general this week was shameful even by the standards of the U.N." 

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, on Tuesday urged Guterres to resign, ripping into the U.N. secretary-general for ostensibly rationalizing Hamas’ murder of 1,400, including Americans, Oct. 7 in Israel.

Guterres said Hamas’ attacks "did not happen in a vacuum," and the "Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. This is false. It was the opposite," Erdan said, describing Guterres' words as "pure blood libel."

Guterres responded to the criticism against him by noting in a statement outside the U.N. Security Council, "I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statements yesterday in the Security Council. As if … as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite."

The U.N. has long faced accusations by critics of antisemitism and anti-Israel hatred.

Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report

Thousands of Palestinians broke into a United Nations aid warehouses in Gaza this weekend as the Israeli military ramped up its ground operations against Hamas.

Gaza residents looted flour and basic hygenic products from the U.N. facility, according to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA. Palestinians broke into four separate facilities across the Gaza strip on Saturday, the agency says.

UNRWA provides basic services to hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza. Its schools across the territory have been transformed into packed shelters housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict. Israel has allowed only a small trickle of aid to enter from Egypt, some of which was stored in one of the warehouses that was broken into, UNRWA said.

The unrest comes as the Israeli military has entered the "second stage" of its war against Hamas, greatly expanding its ground operations in Gaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In the wake of the Hamas terror attack against Israel, and anti-Israel protests erupting across the country, some Republicans are shifting their attention on immigration away from the border and onto stopping foreign nationals who express anti-Israel or pro-Hamas views from getting into the U.S. legally as well.

The Hamas terror attacks immediately drew attention from conservatives and Republicans to the southern border, and the risk of terrorists getting in through past Border Patrol.

However, both the attacks and protests that emerged in college campuses and cities throughout the U.S. also raised new questions about potential restrictions on legal immigration — including in the refugee process.

2024 presidential candidates and GOP lawmakers have called for the U.S. to no longer accept refugees from Gaza. Reps. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced legislation that would block anyone from Gaza being admitted as a refugee, while multiple 2024 candidates have promised to do the same.

"I don’t know what Biden’s going to do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees," presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said during an event. "If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all antisemitic. None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist."

"We aren’t bringing in anyone from Gaza," former President Donald Trump said recently.

The United Nations' World Food Programme said Saturday the humanitarian organization has lost contact with their aid teams in Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists.

"The silence is deafening," WFP chief Cindy McCain wrote on X. "As conflict rages on, I am extremely worried for the safety of all humanitarian workers and civilians. We are at a tipping point. Humanity must prevail."

This comes during Israel's continued expansion of its ground attack against Gaza after cutting communications to the region. The residents of Gaza are now left without cellphone or radio service as Israeli forces attack Hamas from the ground, sea and air.

"With communications cut in #Gaza, our lifesaving food assistance is at a standstill. We cannot reach staff and partners, or the people who rely on us," McCain said in another post on X. "We urgently need the ability to operate and sustained access for humanitarian assistance. Every minute counts."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday announced that his forces have entered the "second stage" of its war with the terrorist group Hamas, calling the fight a "second War of Independence."

"The war inside the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult, and we are prepared for it," Netanyahu said during a press conference in the evening, local time. "This is our second War of Independence."

"The war inside the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult, and we are prepared for it," he added, saying that the war is now "my life's mission."

Netanyahu spoke at the end of a difficult week for Israel, with more discussion and frustration on both sides of the conflict as some world leaders called for a humanitarian pause or a ceasefire. The United Nations voted on several motions and passed one calling for a ceasefire, which Israel outright rejected and labeled "despicable."

Tension remained high as Israel continued to make incursions into Gaza ahead of a much-anticipated ground invasion: Allies had reportedly urged Israel to hold back while negotiations over the 220 hostages dragged on, which frustrated Israeli leadership who accused Hamas of using the negotiations to delay and regroup.

Instead of a wide-scale ground invasion, Netanyahu announced Saturday the "second phase of the war, whose goals are clear: The destruction of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, and the return of the hostages home."

"We decided to expand ground operations unanimously – both in the War Cabinet and in the political-security cabinet," Netanyahu said. "We did so in a prudent and informed manner, out of a commitment to ensuring the fate of the state and ensuring the safety of our soldiers."

"We did so in a prudent and informed manner, out of a commitment to ensuring the fate of the state and ensuring the safety of our soldiers," he continued. "The commanders and fighters who are now fighting in enemy territory know that the people, and the leadership of the people, stand behind them."

Netanyahu invoked the history of the Jewish people, recalling Joshua Ben-Nun, Judah Maccabee and Bar Kochba – heroes of the Jewish people – as well as famous victories in the Six Days War and Yom Kippur War, as well as the famous refrain, "never again, never again."

He reiterated the warnings about how Hamas operates – using civilians as human shieldsand hiding beneath hospitals to carry out their operations while manipulating international law for protection. He claimed that Israel’s allies in the "Western world and … the Arab world, understand today that if Israel does not win, they will be next in line in the campaign of conquest and murder of the axis of evil.

"In an Op-Ed published Saturday in The New York Times, former U.S. envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross claimed that he had spoken with allies across the Middle East during the past two weeks and found that Arab officials understood "that Hamas must be destroyed in Gaza," since any perceived victory for the terrorists "will validate the group’s ideology of rejection, give leverage and momentum to Iran and its collaborators and put their own governments on the defensive."

Netanyahu leaned on that existential threat at the peak of his speech, stressing that the war on Hamas is a fight "to be or to cease," but he insisted that Israel would succeed, saying, "we will be and we will win" but admitting the war would not end quickly.

Fox News' Peter Aitken and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu frustrated members of his security cabinet on Sunday by claiming that he never received a warning about Hamas' Oct. 7 assault that led to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Netanyahu posted the claim from his official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, though it was deleted soon afterward Sunday morning. Each of his cabinet members who hold responsibilities related to national security have acknowledged their failings in relation to October 7, but Netanyahu has angered some by admitting no wrongdoing.

"At no time and no stage was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding war intentions of Hamas. On the contrary, all security officials, including the head of army intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, estimated that Hamas was deterred and interested in an arrangement," Netanyahu's post read.

The prime minister later amended his statement and apologized.

"I was wrong," saying his statement "should not have been made and I apologize for that."

"I give full backing to all the heads of the security branches," he added.