Senate leaders returned to the floor Monday afternoon for the first time since their Columbus Day recess, which was particularly busy with codels to China and Israel, and behind-the-scenes conversations with the White House about an emergency funding package to Israel. 

‘We want to move this package quickly,’ Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor. ‘The Senate must go first — I know that the House is in disarray, but we cannot wait for them. The needs are too great, and if we pass a strong package, with strong bipartisan support, it will import to in the House somehow or other to act despite the morass they are in.’

Schumer led a delegation of bipartisan lawmakers to the Holy Land over the weekend, just a few days after he cut his codel to China short last week. He said on the floor the trip pushed back ‘in a significant way against the dangerous false equivalency between what Hamas is doing and the response against them.’ 

‘Let us be clear. Hamas is an evil organization that wants to see Israel wiped off the face of the map. They don’t believe in a two-state solution,’ he said.

While in Israel, Schumer and Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Bill Cassidy, R-La., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., had to shelter on two separate occasions due to Hamas rocket attacks. 

‘For us, the danger was momentary, thank God, But it’s harrowing to think that Israelis are going through this and much greater horrors every single day,’ he said.

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., echoed Schumer’s support for Israel and said, ‘The surest way to stop against Israelis and oppression of Palestinians is to wipe terrorists like Hamas from the face of the earth.’ 

‘To that end, the United States must provide maximum support to Israel’s counterterrorist operation, as long as it takes,’ he said. 

The upper chamber was briefed on a call last week by the administration on a ‘mega package’ request that would combine aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and border security, according to a source familiar.

Attorney and former secretary of the treasury Jack Lew – nominated to be ambassador to Israel — will have a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. A vote will be scheduled following the hearing. Lew served in both the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama administrations.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin put a significant number of U.S. troops on standby to ‘be ready to deploy,’ over the weekend, though officials say the U.S. role would not be for combat. The surprise attack on Israel has killed at least 1,400 people and wounded thousands others. 

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.  

President Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday as he tries to send a message of his administration’s commitment to the Jewish state amid its war with Hamas. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed the visit Monday night, saying the visit will happen ‘at a critical moment for Israel, for the region, and for the world.’

‘The president will reaffirm the United States solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security,’ a White House official said. 

Blinken also added that Biden will speak to Israeli leaders about how to minimize civilian casualties in the densely populated Gaza Strip, which has been bombarded with Israeli airstrikes. 

‘The president will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas,’ he explained.

Israel has urged 1 million residents in Gaza to evacuate the northern end. 

The visit coincides with Biden’s pledge to support Israel. The administration has already promised military support, sending U.S. carriers and aid to the region.

On Monday, Biden spoke with several world leaders and his own national security team about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the besieged Gaza over fears the conflict could expand.

Biden spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the fallout from Hamas terrorist fighters’ surprise attacks on Israel that left 1,400 dead and retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 2,778 Palestinians. Biden scrapped a planned trip to Colorado on Monday where he was expected to tout his economic agenda. 

After visiting Israel, Biden will visit neighboring Jordan to meet with Arab leaders as tensions increase in the region. 

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden will meet with King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

‘He will reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination and discuss the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza,’ the White House said of Biden’s upcoming visit. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Visibly worn-down House Republicans left a closed-door meeting on Monday night intent on forging ahead with a vote for speaker on Tuesday despite lingering opposition to Speaker-designate Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. 

‘If Jim Jordan can’t get through, Jesus can’t. So we better figure this out,’ Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital after the meeting. ‘I think where we’re at is, that we have to respect in rules in the House. If we do, then we’ll get a leader.’

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital, ‘I don’t know why people have it in their head, regardless of what faction they are in with our in our conference, why they think only one person could be a good speaker.’

‘People say, well, if you didn’t support my guy, I’m not gonna support your guy. That doesn’t make sense to me,’ Barr said.

Jordan won the House Republican nomination for speaker in a closed-door, anonymous vote on Friday, but there were at least 55 GOP lawmakers who would not commit to voting for him on the House floor at the time.

He’s managed to whittle that number down significantly. But while smaller, Jordan’s opposition became more distinct, with lawmakers publicly voicing concerns about Jordan after last week’s secret ballot. These opponents could be a problem – Jordan can only lose four Republican votes to still win the speakership if all members are in attendance.

Meanwhile, the House has been paralyzed in the nearly two weeks since ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by eight members of his own party and all House Democrats. 

Jordan himself told reporters on Monday night, ‘I felt good walking into the conference, I feel even better now.’

But some members expressed frustration with how the entire process has gone and suggested it would be enough for them to oppose Jordan on Tuesday. It comes after Jordan and his allies were accused of waging a pressure campaign on holdouts through the weekend.

‘I will tell you that if folks think that they can pressure me, that’s where they lose me,’ Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., told reporters after the meeting. Diaz-Balart said he would be voting for Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., at least in a first-round vote.

Scalise had been House Republicans’ initial speaker-designate until opposition from Jordan supporters forced him to withdraw. 

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., fumed about Scalise’s treatment and said he would also be voting for the Louisiana Republican. 

‘When I see what’s going on in that conference, and understand that we had an election, and we elected somebody to be our speaker, and because people in that conference didn’t agree with the election, no, no, no, we’ve got a stop it all now, and we’ve got to have another election?’ Kelly said. ‘The real man in that room was Steve Scalise.’

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., meanwhile, said he was ‘inclined’ to vote for McCarthy on Tuesday. Like Diaz-Balart he suggested he chafed at pressure from Jordan and his allies.

‘The problem is when you have people that broke the rules, and it put us in the spot now they’re saying you know, we need you to get on board. It doesn’t work for some of us,’ Bacon said. ‘I think normal Americans, we believe in justice. We believe in fairness, rule of law…the majority of us have been stomped on in this. And I’m not going to take it.’

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., similarly said he would support McCarthy for speaker on Tuesday, a position he’s maintained since the California Republican’s ouster. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., one of the eight Republicans who voted to sink McCarthy, said his reservations about Jordan’s opposition to the 2020 election results and alleged role in Jan. 6 would still have to be worked out.

‘Jim is going to come visit after this meeting,’ Buck said. ‘I’m a no right now. But I told him I would be open-minded to having that conversation.’

One GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital it might ‘take a few’ rounds for Jordan to net the majority needed to be speaker but was confident in his ability to do it.

‘There are a few holdouts, but he’s got tonight, tomorrow morning to work on it, and has a lot of powerful people in his corner,’ the lawmaker said. ‘It might take a few votes, it might not be done on the first on the first ballot, but I think he’s okay with that.’

The House of Representatives is finally expected to vote on a new speaker on Tuesday at noon after the chamber ousted its previous leader in a historic majority vote earlier this month.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was chosen as Republicans’ candidate for speaker last week after a tumultuous few days in which Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the initial speaker-designate last week, was forced to drop out of the race over growing public opposition. 

And despite Republicans holding the House majority, it’s not immediately clear if Jordan can win on the first ballot.

‘We need to get a speaker tomorrow, the American people deserve to have their Congress, their House of Representatives, working,’ Jordan told reporters on Monday evening. ‘I felt good walking into the conference, I feel even better now.’

House Republicans met behind closed doors on Monday night, where Jordan made a last appeal to the holdouts against him. 

He’ll need a simple majority to win the speaker’s gavel. But with House Republicans’ razor-thin margin and at least one expected absence, he can only lose three GOP votes to still clinch the speakership if all House Democrats are present.

As of Monday evening, at least two House Republicans – Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. and Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. – have said they are committed to voting for ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was ousted by a vote of eight House Republicans and all House Democrats.

But Jordan Monday appeared to have substantially reduced the number of Republicans opposed to voting for him, chipping away significantly at the 55 Republicans who refused in a secret ballot vote last week to commit to backing him on the House floor. 

Jordan became the Republican nominee after Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana withdrew amid signs he could not achieve a majority on the floor.

Jordan won over a key holdout when House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., stunned political watchers on Monday morning when he said he’d back Jordan. 

Rogers had strongly opposed Jordan as recently as Friday and had suggested late last week that Republicans may have to work with Democrats to find a new leader. 

Meanwhile, Democrats tore into Jordan ahead of the vote, accusing Republicans of empowering an ‘extremist’ over his closeness to former President Donald Trump and objection to the 2020 election results.

‘Jim Jordan is not fit to serve as Speaker of the House,’ Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., wrote on social media.

‘He is an extremist who led Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, forced government shutdowns, and attacked programs like Social Security and Medicare.’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meanwhile, called on moderate Republicans to break off from their conference and join a ‘bipartisan’ coalition.

‘The extremists have broken the House of Representatives. Only a bipartisan governing coalition can fix it,’ Jeffries said on Monday morning.

Some GOP senators are signaling they may oppose Biden-nominated Jack Lew from the ambassadorship to Israel due to his record on Iran relations during his time as secretary to the Treasury. 

Lew will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for a nomination hearing.

In 2018, a Senate report by the investigative subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found that Lew, during his tenure as secretary to the Treasury under the Obama administration, ‘granted a specific license that authorized a conversion of Iranian assets worth billions of U.S. dollars using the U.S. financial system.’  

The report found that the administration tried to convert $5.7 billion from U.S. banks to Iranian assets. It noted that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ‘encouraged two U.S. correspondent banks to convert the funds.’  

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital on Monday evening that he will vote to oppose Lew during a confirmation vote, and that he will be leading an effort to persuade other GOP colleagues this week to block his confirmation.

‘I know my Democratic colleagues contend that we should confirm Jack Lew properly to show our support for Israel, but I would turn that around. We should defeat Jack Lew’s nomination to show that our nation has a new policy towards Iran.’ Cotton said.

‘Jack Lew, Biden’s nom to be USAMB to Israel, was key point man in negotiations & disinfo campaign for Obama’s dangerously flawed deal w Iran,’ Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., posted on X, formerly Twitter. ‘The consequences are felt today as Iran — flush w cash due to Biden’s push to revive the deal at any cost — has fueled carnage in Israel.’

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also said on X: ‘We need to have an ambassador in Israel, but it has to be the right person.’ Rubio is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Cotton previously told Fox News’ Shannon Bream on Sunday, ‘Absolutely not’ to confirming Lew.

‘Jack Lew is an Iran sympathizer who has no business being our ambassador. It’s bad for the United States,’ he said. ‘It’s bad for Israel to have an Iran sympathizer as our ambassador to that country. He helped Iran evade American sanctions, and he lied to Congress about it. He defended the Obama administration’s refusal to use our veto … in the final days of the Obama administration to protect Israel from anti-Semitic resolutions.’

In January 2016, President Obama announced a $400 million cash transfer to Iran, which was part of a larger installment of a $1.7 billion settlement for a longstanding disagreement over an arms deal with Iran. Lew faced scrutiny at the time for the transfer, which was signed before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, signifying the end of Iran’s historical monarchy.

Lew — a Democrat who also served in the Bill Clinton administration as special assistant to the president’s office — faced scrutiny for the transfer. The Wall Street Journal chronicled during that period that the payment was conducted using a combination of Swiss and other foreign currencies, then transported to Iran on unidentified cargo planes.

‘Right now, it is as critical as ever that we have a Senate-confirmed ambassador in Israel,’ Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement when the war broke out last week.

He added, ‘That is why I hope my colleagues will join me in promptly confirming Secretary Jacob J. Lew as the new U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

‘I look forward to working with my colleagues, both Republican and Democratic, in moving forward on such steps swiftly to demonstrate the longstanding bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel partnership. And I look forward to supporting the administration in its efforts to do the same.’

Lawmakers have been critical of Iran over its involvement aiding Hamas in attacking Israel, claiming a $6 billion deal with the nation in exchange for five American prisoners last month was used to support the attack.

The deal allowed the transfer of Iran’s frozen assets held in a South Korean bank to accounts in Qatar.

The administration said the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes, and that the U.S. will have oversight as to how and when the funds are used. But it quickly drew skepticism about whether those funds could have been used to fund the surprise attack in Israel after a bombshell Wall Street Journal report said Hamas and Hezbollah helped Iran plan the attack.

Lew declined to comment when reached Monday night by Fox News Digital.

The Hamas war against Israel is slated to be given a potent shot in the arm if the U.S. and its European allies allow U.N. sanctions to be lifted on Iran’s capability to purchase and supply missiles to enemies of the U.S. and Israel, according to experts on Tehran.

This coming Wednesday is the so-called ‘Transition Day’ when the expiration of the U.N.’s embargo against Iran’s ability to procure and sell missiles and drones goes into effect.

Richard Goldberg, who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration as the director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction, told Fox News Digital, ‘The president gives a speech saying he is heartbroken about the images of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and opposes Hamas, and a week later, he hands a gift to Hamas’ sponsor, Iran. My heart breaks to see the president lift this embargo.’

Goldberg said the removal of U.N. sanctions on Iran’s missile program ‘will be a huge victory for Tehran that is simply serving as a reward for terrorism and proliferation around world.’

ISRAELI PM NETANYAHU DECLARES ‘WAR’ AFTER HAMAS TERRORISTS LAUNCH MASSIVE ATTACK: LIVE UPDATES 

Iran’s ally, Hamas, murdered 1,400 people, including Americans, on Oct. 7 in southern Israel. Fox News Digital reported on Sunday that the late U.S.-designated Iranian global terrorist Qassem Soleimani was the architect of the mass murder, according to a Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) report.

Iran’s regime threatened Israel as the Jewish state prepares to launch an expected ground invasion into Gaza to root out Hamas terrorists and the entity’s military apparatus.

Earlier this month, State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked during a press briefing if the administration was looking to extend the embargo.

‘We continue to have a number of tools at our disposal to hold Iran’s dangerous development and proliferation of missile-related technologies and UAVs – to hold those things accountable,’ Patel said. ‘Obviously, UNSCR 2231 is not the only tool that is at our disposal. We have our own sanctions authorities. We have export controls. We have bilateral and multilateral engagements. We have already effectively targeted the same networks and individuals that would have been covered under a 2231 UNSCR violation, and we’ll continue to use our own sanctions authorities to hold the Iranian regime accountable.’

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 was passed by the 15-member body in 2015.

Pressed if the administration was willing to let it expire, Patel said there wasn’t ‘anything to preview on that now’ while adding, ‘We have pretty credibly – if you look at our track record on this since the inception of this administration – have held the Iranian regime accountable for its malign and destabilizing activities, and we’ll continue to do so.’

Numerous Fox News Digital press queries to the State Department and White House went unanswered regarding the U.N. sanctions.

Goldberg, who is a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), noted that ‘it is an unforgivable policy choice at this moment. We can stop it from expiring. We could send a letter to the United Nations Security Council and trigger snapback sanctions.’ He termed the Biden’s policy toward Iran ‘appeasement.’

‘Washington’s silence on the lapse of U.N. missile prohibitions on Iranian missile testing and transfers is deafening. Iran’s missile proliferation radius keeps expanding, and with the lapse of U.N. restrictions this October, that will almost certainly grow to include Russia,’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran expert and senior fellow at FDD, told Fox News Digital.

He added, ‘Make no mistake, though short of snapback, Europe’s decision to retain missile and nonproliferation sanctions on Iran is not an insignificant act. It is akin to their first ever violation of the deal. That’s big.’

The European members of the JCPOA, U.K., France and Germany, known as the EU3 announced last month that they had decided to keep their ballistic missile and nuclear proliferation-related sanctions on Iran in place. 

The Obama administration’s controversial 2015 nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), contained provisions on weapons sanctions against Iran that were allowed to lapse. The Trump administration withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 because, his administration argued, the deal did not stop Iran’s drive to weaponize a nuclear device, degrade its ballistic missile program and end its sponsorship of terrorism.

The JCPOA permitted the lifting of the U.N. ban on Iran’s ballistic missile activities. According to the United Nations Security Council sanctions package, ‘Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology’ until Transition Day.

Taleblu recently authored a report titled ‘Avoiding an October Sanctions Surprise That Would Empower Tehran.’ According to the FDD report, the ‘prohibition on U.N. member states providing Iran with missile components and technology, along with restrictions on Iran’s missile exports, are popularly called the ‘missile embargo’ and will also lapse on Transition Day.’

The U.S. and Europeans can invoke the snapback sanctions mechanism to restore the U.N. sanctions on Iran’s weapons procurement system. Yet Taleblu said the sanctions are set to expire ‘and the only way to stop it was through snapback, but that won’t happen because Europe and the U.S. are still wedded to the deal (JCPOA).’

He added, ‘As for context, Iran has given Russia drones not missiles [and is] likely waiting for this.’ And once the U.N. sanctions lapse, Iran will likely supply Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine in Ukraine, he said.

The lifting of U.N. restrictions on Iran’s missile apparatus creates a dangerous new war theater in the Middle East. Taleblu wrote, ‘The more confidence Tehran feels in its missile capabilities, the lower the bar for Iran’s overt use of force with these weapons. Similarly, the more Tehran believes in the deterrent power of its growing missile force, the bolder and more unconstrained it may become in its support for terrorism, assassination, and destabilization.’

A considerable market demand for Iranian drones exists. Iranian regime military officials say that 22 countries seek to buy their drones. Israel believes that roughly 50 nations have an appetite for Iranian drones.

In July, the Iranian regime-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency reported that ‘Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and his Bolivian counterpart Edmundo Novillo Aguilar signed the defense and security MoU.’ The AP reported in late July that Bolivia’s socialist government wants to obtain Iranian drone technology.

Fox News Digital reached out to Iran’s foreign ministry in Tehran and its U.N. mission in New York. The spokesperson for the United Nations General-Secretary Antonio Guterres did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital media query.

Reuters contributed to this report.

JERUSALEM, Israel – If there’s one clear objective of Israel’s war in Gaza right now it is this: To hunt down and assassinate Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. 

Referred to by Israel as the Butcher of Khan Younis for his violent and cruel torture methods against his enemies, both Israeli and Palestinian, Sinwar, 60, is widely seen as being behind the massacre of Israeli civilians carried out by thousands of Hamas militants on Oct. 7.

The attack, in which 1,400 people are now known to have been killed, with a further 200 missing and likely being held hostage inside the Gaza Strip, is the worst against Jews since the Holocaust. Civilian men, women and children were not only murdered but, according to multiple eyewitness reports also brutalized, raped and even decapitated.

‘That man is in our sights,’ Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told journalists over the weekend. ‘Sinwar is the leader of Hamas in Gaza and he’s a dead man walking.’ 

‘We will get to him, however long it takes… and this war could be long,’ he said.

Sinwar, who is believed to be somewhere in the Palestinian enclave but hidden deep underground in the warren of tunnels Hamas uses to transport weapons and fighters and where they may even be keeping the hostages, was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp when the area was part of Egypt.

According to multiple sources, he was always a militant activist and joined Hamas not long after its founding in 1987. Two years later he was arrested by Israel for his involvement in the abduction and killing of two Israelis, as well as the torturing and murder of four Palestinians he considered to be collaborators. 

Sentenced to life in prison, Sinwar ended up serving 22 years in an Israeli jail and was eventually released as part of a prisoner exchange for the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.

‘Sinwar has been active since the early days of Hamas,’ Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told Fox News Digital. ‘In jail, he became a prominent leader of Hamas prisoners and was a very influential figure among all Palestinian prisoners.’ 

Michael said that during his time in jail Sinwar learned to speak Hebrew fluently and knows Israeli society very well. 

‘He is religious, not necessarily in practice but in religious extremism,’ he said. ‘In his soul and in mentality, he is a living martyr, not afraid to die or sacrifice himself. He is extreme and believes that he can lead the Palestinian people to destroy Israel.’ 

‘He does not have a Western way of thinking,’ Michael continued. ‘When he talks about the destruction of the Zionist project and raising the caliphate from Marrakesh to Bangladesh, he is not even talking about in his lifetime but in future generations.’ 

After being returned to Gaza as part of the Shalit deal, Sinwar became a popular leader in Hamas, an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and in 2017 was elected by secret ballot to replace the incumbent political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Dayan Center in Tel Aviv University, described Sinwar as part of the second generation of Hamas leaders and said he has the potential of leading the whole movement, not just its affairs in Gaza. 

‘Compared to Haniyeh and [former political leader Khaled] Mashal, Sinwar is very charismatic,’ said Milshtein, adding that he is also far more hardline and radical than the previous Hamas leaders. 

‘He believes that he was born to promote jihad and kill the infidels, that is his approach,’ he said. ‘He comes from the periphery of Palestinian society, from a refugee camp, unlike the others who like to wear suits and ties.’ 

Milshtein said Sinwar was willing to take the conflict to another level and was unlikely to run away from Israel’s approaching military. 

‘I do not see him running away, giving up or handing himself over, he will fight until he dies, that is the kind of leader he is,’ said Milshtein. ‘Sinwar has only left Gaza once or twice in the past six years and that was only to Egypt. He does not know much about the rest of the world or about diplomatic relations, he is focused on jihad.’ 

This is not the first time that Sinwar is in Israel’s sights. In 2018, following the announcement by President Donald Trump that he would move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, mass protests broke out in Gaza along the border fence with Israel. Known as the Great March of Return, Israel said Sinwar was instigating the unrest and encouraging thousands of Palestinians to try and break through into Israel to harm civilians. 

In terms of the Oct. 7 attack, which was led by Hamas’ elite Nukhba force, Israel believes Sinwar and other Hamas leaders, such as military commander Mohammad Deif, have been preparing for the attack for more than two years. There is evidence that Sinwar purposely misled regional partners such as Egypt and Qatar into believing that he was more focused on relieving the humanitarian crisis for the enclave’s 2.1 million residents than drawing Israel into a war. 

Retired Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, the Israeli army spokesman, told Fox News Digital that the army had ‘no doubt’ Sinwar was the ‘mastermind of this massacre.’

‘He coordinated the entire institution of Hamas, the government, and the military wing,’ said Lerner. ‘He is the financier, the instructor and he gave the ultimate green light to carry this out.’ 

Sinwar, he said, was at the top of the Israeli military’s list of targets. 

‘He is the figurehead,’ said Lerner. ‘Although there are many others that were involved in the butchering of our civilians. We are collecting and currently analyzing visuals found on the bodycams carried by the Hamas terrorists during the attack.’ 

As to whether Israel will be able to reach its greatest enemy, Michael told Fox News Digital that ‘as long as we stay determined and do not surrender under the pressure of the international community and as long as we are patient, then there is a high probability Israel will be able to get its hands on Sinwar.’

‘Sinwar will not remain alive for too much longer,’ he said.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Monday criticized former President Trump’s recent comments attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as ‘terrible and not helpful’ amid Hamas’ terrorist attacks against the Jewish State.

Scott, a presidential candidate seeking the Republican nomination in 2024, made the comments about his GOP primary opponent’s remarks during an event hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service and The Associated Press.

‘We should be loyal to our allies while being lethal to our adversaries. Anything less than that jeopardizes life,’ the South Carolina Republican said.

More than 4,200 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack, leading to retaliatory action from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered.

Trump blasted Netanyahu during a speech on Wednesday, saying the Israeli prime minister ‘let us down’ shortly before the U.S. military assassinated top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in early 2020. The Republican front-runner also suggested that Netanyahu’s conversations with the Biden administration helped Hezbollah, a terror group Israel fears may launch an attack from the country’s north.

The former president also said Israel’s intelligence agencies needed to ‘step up their game’ for not detecting Hamas’ attack, and he referred to Hezbollah as ‘very smart.’

On Friday, Trump changed his tune regarding the Israeli prime minister after backlash from fellow Republicans. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he stands with Israel and Netanyahu.

Scott, meanwhile, offered high praise to Netanyahu for displaying ‘passion’ and ‘humanity’ when responding to Hamas’ largest attack against Israel in decades.

‘One of the first things that Israel’s done is they waited,’ Scott said. ‘Now how Prime Minister Netanyahu had the kind of restraint to refrain from immediate action, it just talks about the morality and the humanity that we see coming from Netanyahu into Gaza.’

The senator also spoke on whether the U.S. should accept Palestinian refugees. Scott said he does not believe it is the right move to take in the refugees because the Biden administration will not be able to determine ‘who is safe to bring in, who’s not safe to bring in.’

Scott’s comments about Palestinian refugees mirror statements from other Republicans, including presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.

‘I don’t know what Biden’s gonna do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees,’ DeSantis said during a campaign stop in Iowa. ‘I am not going to do that. 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.’

Additionally, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the Biden administration should rescind visas of foreign nationals who defend or support Hamas and Sen. Tom Cotton, R. Ark., urged the Department of Homeland Security to deport foreign nationals, including those on student visas, who have expressed support for Hamas in the wake of the terror attack on Israel.

‘The appalling explosion of anti-Semitism in the United States over the past few weeks should disturb anyone who shares American values,’ Cotton said. ‘While American citizens may have a First Amendment right to speak disgusting vitriol if they so choose, no foreign national has a right to advocate for terrorism in the United States.’

Hamas is reportedly claiming that it will ‘protect’ its hostages taken during the war with Israel and will only release them ‘when circumstances on the ground allow.’ 

The comments surfaced Monday in a video message from Abu Obeida, whom Reuters says is the spokesman of the Palestinian terrorist group’s armed wing. Israel says Hamas is holding 199 Israelis hostage, while 13 Americans remain unaccounted for. 

Obeida said Hamas has ‘a group of detainees of different nationalities, these are our guests and we seek to protect them,’ according to Reuters. 

‘We will release detainees of different nationalities when circumstances on the ground allow,’ he reportedly added, without elaborating. 

LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL AT WAR WITH HAMAS 

The news agency also reported Monday that senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said that ‘foreign prisoners cannot be released due to the continued Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip.’ 

Separately, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal – who last week called for protests worldwide in support of Palestinians – told the AlAraby TV channel that the group ‘has what it needs to empty the prisons’ of Palestinians being held captive in Israel, according to Reuters. 

The statements come as Hamas on Monday released a video purportedly showing one of its foreign captives. 

In the footage, a woman who is seen being treated for an arm injury identifies herself as 21-year-old Mia Schem and asks to be returned to her family as soon as possible, Reuters reports. 

ISRAEL’S HUNT FOR HAMAS TERROR GROUP LEADER YAHYA SINWAR: ‘DEAD MAN WALKING’ 

The news agency says a representative from her family – who was among a group of French residents who appealed last week to President Emmanuel Macron for help – confirmed Schem’s identity. 

For days, Israel has maintained a blockade of the Gaza Strip, preventing food, water, medicine and fuel from entering the region occupied by around 2.3 million people. 

Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz has said the blockade will end if Hamas releases the hostages. But as of Tuesday, the terrorist group has not acted on that offer. 

As of Tuesday, at least 4,200 people have been killed in the war on both sides, including at least 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers and 30 Americans.  

Palestinian health authorities say at least 2,808 Palestinians have been killed and more than 10,950 wounded.  

Israeli forces announced Sunday that they killed a top Hamas commander blamed for one of the most heinous kibbutz attacks during the terror group’s surprise assault on Oct. 7. 

Southern Khan Yunis Nukhba commander Billal Al Kedra, accused of being responsible for the Kibbutz Nirim massacre, was neutralized as ‘part of extensive IDF strikes targeting senior operatives and terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip,’ Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) said. 

Following ISA intelligence, IDF fighter jets operated in Gaza and ‘neutralized’ Al Kedra, the IDF press release said. 

The IDF also provided video purportedly showing the strike that killed the Hamas commander. They also said Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives were also neutralized.

‘The IDF also struck over one hundred military targets located in Zaytun, Khan Yunis, and west Jabaliya,’ the IDF statement said. ‘These strikes impacted the capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization, by targeting its operational command centers, military compounds, dozens of launchers, anti-tank missile launch posts and observation posts. Furthermore, operational command centers belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization were struck.’ 

The rural farming enclave of Nirim, located less than a mile from the Gaza border, was one of several kibbutz communities that bore the brunt of Hamas’ brutal ground attack Oct. 7. 

A resident there told CNN afterward that terrorists were starting fires and knocking door to door pretending to be military in order to drive Israelis out of their homes to kill or kidnap them. 

‘They just slaughtered everyone. They killed kids, babies, grandmothers,’ the Nirim survivor told CNN, though it’s unclear how many were killed or kidnapped from there. 

The IDF on Monday shared six images of other ‘key operatives of the Hamas terrorist organization eliminated’ by Israeli forces. 

‘Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization,’ the IDF post on X, formerly Twitter, said. ‘We will eliminate Hamas.’ 

The operatives include Ali Qadi, commander of Hamas’ Nukhba Jabalya Assult Company, Mueaz Eid, commander of the Hamas Southern District of National Security, Zachariah Abu Ma’amar, the head of the International Relations office in Hamas’ Political Bureau, Joad Abu Shmalah, the Hamas Minister of Economy in the Gaza Strip, Belal Alqadra, the commander of the Nukhba Southern Khan Yunis Assault Company, and Merad Abu Merad, the head of the Hamas Aerial Array in Gaza City. 

More than a million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israeli invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly incursion, according to The Associated Press. Aid groups warn an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis.

Israeli forces, supported by U.S. warships, positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished neighborhoods but failed to stop militant rocket fire into Israel.

The war that began Oct. 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, with more than 4,000 dead. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,750 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.