WEAPONS SALE SPYING: A controversial surveillance authority has been key to helping U.S. intelligence agencies stop the sale of certain weapons parts to Iran in recent years, officials familiar with the matter told our own ERIN BANCO and JOHN SAKELLARIADIS. The CIA and other intelligence agencies used information gathered by monitoring the electronic communications of foreign weapons manufacturers to stop several shipments of advanced weapons parts to Iran by land, air and sea, the two U.S. intelligence officials told our colleagues. The campaign came as the administration pushed to prevent Iran from building up its ballistic missile program — one officials continue to worry Tehran is using to help Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine. Officials have also focused on limiting Iran’s intervention in conflicts that impact U.S. national security more broadly, including the war between Israel and Hamas. The disclosure is the administration’s latest argument that the spying authority — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — is crucial to national security as it fights to get Congress to reauthorize the tool before it expires at the end of the year. Scroll to On The Hill for more on the future of Section 702. FIGHT SMARTER: Washington has warned Israel that it needs to be more deliberate in its attacks on the Gaza Strip and avoid further displacing Palestinians to avoid a humanitarian crisis, senior Biden administration officials told The New York Times’ ERICA GREEN. Humanitarian support networks around the world wouldn’t be able to handle the crisis that could come if Israel continues the level of bombardment on southern Gaza in the coming weeks, the officials said. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack due to Israel’s operation in retaliation, according to the U.N. Speaking with The Washington Post’s HAZEM BALOUSHA and LOVEDAY MORRIS, a U.S. official explicitly stated that position: “It is extremely important” that the offensive must “be done in a way that is to a maximum extent not designed to produce significant displacement of persons.” It’s the White House’s strongest warning yet to Israel that it should scale back the intensity of its military tactics. The Israeli government was receptive to the plea, the officials said, adding that the White House is hopeful that humanitarian aid into Gaza could continue even when fighting resumes. CIA IN QATAR: CIA Director BILL BURNS arrived in Doha today to push for an expansive hostage deal between Israel and Hamas during secret meetings with Israel’s spy chief and Qatar’s prime minister, three people familiar with the visit told the Post’s JOHN HUDSON. He’s hoping to convince officials to agree to a longer pause in fighting and broaden the hostage deals, which have included just women and children, to include men and military personnel. Burns will also advocate for the release of the eight or nine American hostages being held by Hamas. Burns has played a key role in the hostage negotiations for the U.S. due to his extensive contacts in the Middle East and with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service: “They listen to him and highly respect him,” a person familiar with the negotiations told the Post. ‘RIDICULOUS’: Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU vehemently denied accusations he allowed Qatar to fund and strengthen the militant group Hamas in order to divide Palestinians into rival political camps, our colleagues PAUL RONZHEIMER and CLAUDIA CHIAPPA report. Netanyahu’s opponents in Israel argue his government spent years actively boosting Hamas in Gaza, by allowing Qatar to channel hundreds of millions of dollars to the coastal enclave in a risky game of “divide-and-rule,” that was meant to play the Islamist militants from Hamas off against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. “It’s a big lie that I wanted to build [up] Hamas. Ridiculous,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company. “You don’t go to war three times with Hamas or do major military operations if you want to build up Hamas.” MISSED TARGET: One of the dozens of attacks on American troops in Syria over the last six weeks might actually have been targeting a small U.S. outpost just across the border in Jordan, a Pentagon official and outside expert familiar with the incident told Lara and PAUL McLEARY. On Oct. 23, Iran-backed militants in Syria launched multiple one-way attack drones close to al-Tanf Garrison, a small base near the border with Jordan, according to a DOD official who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. But coalition forces across the border, at a small outpost in Jordan called Tower 22, actually took down the drone, which fell on the Syria side. The DOD official said it’s difficult to determine what the militia was actually targeting, particularly since their weapons are not always accurate. A statement from the Iran-backed group, which took responsibility for the attack, said it targeted “two American-occupation bases, al-Tanf and al-Rukban,” which refers to the Rukban refugee camp that is attached to Tower 22, but is across the border in Syria. Iran has long sought to put pressure on the American military presence in Iraq and Syria with sporadic attacks on troops there. But if Iranian proxies are now targeting U.S. troops in Jordan, that could be seen as an escalation. For now, though, the circumstances are too murky to draw any such conclusion. GERSHKOVICH DETENTION EXTENDED: A Russian court today extended the prison sentence for EVAN GERSHKOVICH, The Wall Street Journal reporter who was jailed on contested espionage charges in March, for the third time, WSJ’s ANN SIMMONS reports. He’ll be awaiting trial behind bars until at least Jan. 30, marking 10 months in detention. IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on X at @alexbward and @mattberg33. 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