FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned US lawmakers that there is a heightened risk of terrorist attacks on American soil by individuals or groups who may be inspired by Hamas attacks against Israel.
He said that the threat of attacks on American Soil has been raised “to a whole other level”
Wray made the remarks during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday. He said:
“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration, the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago. In just the past few weeks, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West.”
Russia Today reports: Wray made his comments as Israeli forces escalated their incursion in Gaza in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants, who killed an estimated 1,400 people and took hundreds of others as hostages. More than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed, reportedly including at least 50 when an Israeli airstrike targeted a Hamas commander in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.
At least some of the threats against US interests stem from groups seeking to retaliate for Washington’s support of Israel. In just the past two weeks, there have been 27 drone and rocket attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon has blamed militias sponsored by Iran, which supports Hamas financially as well as politically.
“Here in the United States, our most immediate concern is that violent extremists – individuals or small groups – will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives,” Wray told the Senate committee.
He added, “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 an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole ‘nother level.”
Wray said the FBI has no indication that Hamas has the intention or capability of carrying out operations inside the US. However, he said the agency hasn’t ruled out the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the war by attacking targets on US soil.