Israeli troops entered southwestern Syria in the early hours of Thursday and arrested several people who the Israeli military said were members of Palestinian militant group Hamas but which Syria's interior ministry said were civilians.

"Our support for Gaza and our defense of our country against the Zionist aggression against it has continued," a Houthi source told Newsweek.

The Israeli military recovered the body of de facto Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday.

Israel's leader says arming "clans in Gaza" to help fight Hamas will save lives. Opposition leaders say the weapons "will eventually be turned against" Israelis.

But as law enforcement investigates the violent incidents -- from the New Orleans truck rampage to the Molotov cocktail attack in Boulder -- some counterterrorism experts say they're worried the federal government has taken its eye "off the ball" in preventing terrorism as its priorities shift -- from counterterrorism to mass deportation.

Israel is arming local militias in Gaza in an effort to counter Hamas in the besieged enclave, officials say, as opposition politicians warned that the move endangers national security.

Iran has vowed a "decisive response" to a large-scale attack conducted by Israel against key sites and personnel associated with the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and military.

Israel's widespread airstrikes against Iran's nuclear program are stoking fears of a larger confrontation.