At the Jewish holiday of Passover, as the story goes, the final act of God to convince the Egyptian Pharoah to free the Jewish slaves was to send an “angel of death” to slaughter all the first born children of the Egyptians. The Jews would be spared, or passed over.
I know you only asked if this headline was something of a joke, but I wanted to add a little context, maybe it’s relevant maybe it’s not. I think it is. I think it’s the kind of thinking that allows one to overlook these kinds of atrocities. Even call out others for their concern over your actions that are harming innocent people. Religion is cancer.
That’s my understanding as well, about putting blood on the door frame. I omitted that. You may be correct about the rest.