The Marine Corps colors fly over a mound of debris left after terrorists attacks against the U.S. took place at the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 23, 1983. A suicide bomber driving a truck rammed into the barracks with 12,000 pounds of high explosives, detonating one of the largest non-nuclear bombings in history.

Five Things to Know, Oct. 23, 2023

1. Shortly past daybreak on the morning of Oct. 23, 1983, a Mercedes truck tore through the concertina wire that surrounded the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. The truck was loaded with PETN explosive wrapped in compressed gas canisters. Inside the four-story Battalion Landing Team headquarters and barracks — colorfully known as the "Beirut Hilton" — some 350 American troops still slumbered. The truck crashed through the sandbags stacked in front of the barracks and came to a stop 13 feet inside the lobby. The subsequent explosion claimed the lives of 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and three soldiers.

2. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran, and they asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities. “This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for. We don’t want escalation,” Blinken said. “We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we’re ready for it.”

3. The United States renewed a warning Monday that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a 1951 treaty, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea. Philippine diplomats summoned a Chinese Embassy official in Manila on Monday for a strongly worded protest following Sunday’s collisions off Second Thomas Shoal. No injuries were reported but the encounters damaged a Philippine coast guard ship and a wooden-hulled supply boat operated by navy personnel, officials said.Bottom of Form

4. The U.S., South Korean and Japanese air forces have carried out a rare aerial drill involving a nuclear-capable bomber as part of their nations’ agreement to expand military cooperation amid growing threats out of Pyongyang. For the first time, a B-52H Stratofortress bomber; two F-16 Fighting Falcons; two South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles; and two Japanese F-2s flew alongside one another Sunday, the South Korean air force announced in a news release that day. The historic drill took place in air-defense zones south of the Korean Peninsula that overlap Japan and South Korea.

5. Lawmakers will start informal work on the White House’s $105 billion supplemental for Ukraine and Israel this week, but formal passage of any budget bill will likely drag on for weeks as leadership issues in the House continue to snarl all legislative business there. On Thursday, President Joe Biden previewed the plan in a national speech, emphasizing the need for the United States to support both countries. The spending package has already met mixed reaction on Capitol Hill, with Senate Republicans saying they have concerns about the scope and focus of the money.