FBI says terrorism threat hits ‘a whole other level’ after Hamas attack

Original article here.

Terrorist threats against the U.S. reached “a whole other level” after the Hamas attack on Israel, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress on Tuesday, saying the big players in terrorism have all renewed calls to attack America and its interests.

He said the level of threats has heightened since President Biden took office, though U.S. law enforcement is “better prepared to deal with them.”

“The reality is that the terrorism threat has been elevated throughout 2023, but the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of attack on Americans to a whole other level,” Mr. Wray said.

He said al Qaeda has issued its most specific call for attacks on the U.S. in years, Islamic State leaders have ordered followers to attack Jewish communities, and Hezbollah is eyeing U.S. targets in the Middle East.

Iran, meanwhile, has pushed proxy attacks on U.S. military bases.

Mr. Wray was testifying to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee alongside Christine Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

They said the greatest threat to the U.S. homeland remains lone actors or small cells of radicalized people using readily available weapons to attack “soft targets.”

They said the threat from the Middle East, which declined in recent years, again occupies a more prominent place on their radar.

Ms. Abizaid said groups such as al Qaeda, which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S., have less operational capacity now but are seeking to use the Hamas attack on Israel as a chance to rebuild and recruit.

The threat to Jewish communities in the U.S. is particularly pronounced, Mr. Wray said.

Even before the Hamas attack, Jewish victims accounted for 60% of religion-based hate crimes. Jews comprise just 2.4% of the overall U.S. population.

Mr. Wray said the rate of attacks has likely increased since Oct. 7. The number of anti-Muslim hate crimes, he said, is “quite a bit smaller.”