WASHINGTON — Presidential races don’t normally hinge on crises in distant nations, but the armed conflict that broke out in Israel threatens to undercut Joe Biden’s argument that his foreign policy expertise is making the world more secure.

The attacks launched by Hamas fighters expose deficiencies in Israeli intelligence, experts said, while raising fresh questions about what the U.S. is getting in return for the time spent building surveillance capabilities and partnerships in the volatile Middle East.

“This is an enormous intelligence failure by the Israelis and the Americans,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and Middle East specialist. “I don’t see any reason to believe that either Washington or Jerusalem had any expectation this was coming.”

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Pilots from the United States should exercise "extreme caution" when flying over Israeli airspace amid hostilities between Hamas militants and Israel forces that erupted today, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

No specific threats were outlined, but the FAA said in a Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, that the situation was "potentially hazardous."

The administration recommended maintaining uninterrupted contact with air traffic control while in the Tel-Aviv flight information region.

NOTAM should be monitored for possible airspace closure announcements, too, the administration said.

Israel's government will halt the supply of electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza, according to a statement tonight from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu said that the "first stage" of Israel's counteroffensive against Hamas had ended, claiming that Israeli military forces had fought off the "vast majority" of Hamas militants behind the early morning incursion.

He pledged to continue counterattacks without "limitations nor respite."

"We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack," he said.

Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel comes at a time when the country faces historic domestic political division, rising attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, and high-stakes negotiations between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

After its members killed 200 Israelis and kidnapped dozens more, Hamas said it was taking revenge for a series of recent actions by Israel at Jerusalem’s Al Asqa mosque and in the West Bank. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government has been conducting an escalating crackdown against what it says are rising Palestinian terror attacks for more than a year.

Former U.S. intelligence and military officers said they believed the timing of the Hamas attack was primarily aimed at disrupting negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia as Riyadh appeared on the verge of a historic step to normalize relations with Israel. 

Iran is seeking “to put pressure on their implacable foe Israel” with this attack, said retired Navy admiral James Stavridis, the former commander of NATO.

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As one of the largest invasions in 50 years unfolded on the streets, sea and skies over Israel, misinformation about the assault proliferated on social media.

In one instance, a widely circulated video of an Israeli airstrike was said to show a retaliation to Saturday’s surprise attack by Palestinian group Hamas, which has left hundreds dead.

“BREAKING: Israeli Air Force is striking terror targets in Gaza,” read the caption of the video, which was shared on Facebook and social media platform X. But the video was from airstrikes that happened in May, Reuters reported.

Many of the misleadingly labeled videos were shared by verified users on X, who are eligible for monetization of their content.

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The conflict between Hamas and Israel is seen by some as an act of resistance against oppressors, NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel said.

Within the densely populated and isolated Gaza Strip, the correspondent said, the occupied territory is viewed as an open-air prison. Residents are separated from Israel by a militarized border and lack freedom of movement.

People inside Gaza need permission to leave — either from Israel or the Egyptian government — which is difficult to obtain, Engel said.

"If you are born in Gaza and you’ve done nothing except live there your whole life ... your life is to live there as a prisoner inside this territory," Engel said. "The amount of rage and anger that is there is directed at Israel."

Hamas, he said, has presented its attacks as action taken in the name of justice and freedom.

"They frame this as an act even of self-defense, that they are breaking out of their confines in order to show their oppressors — to give them a taste of their own medicine," he said.

In a statement tonight, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said the death toll in the country would be worse if not for the Iron Dome.

The spokesperson, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, was referring to a short-range air defense system that is known for reliably intercepting missiles, including rockets fired by Hamas militants.

The Iron Dome was developed by a state-owned defense technology firm in the mid-2000s with financial backing from the U.S. It became fully operational in 2011. The system had a 96% success rate in shooting down incoming rockets during clashes between Israel and Hamas in May, the military said at the time.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with foreign ministers of Egypt and Saudi Arabia about the violence in Israel and the need to end the attacks.

In his conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Blinken called for coordinated efforts to stop the violence, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

“The Secretary reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense and called for coordinated efforts to achieve an immediate halt to the violent attacks by Hamas terrorists and other militants,” Miller said.

Momentum has been building recently toward a U.S.-brokered diplomatic agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Blinken also spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

In his call with Abbas, Blinken condemned Hamas' attacks and "urged the Palestinian Authority to continue and enhance steps to restore calm and stability in the West Bank," Miller said.