FBI Director Says Terror Threats Rising in U.S. After Hamas Attack on Israel
Government officials are warning of a rising threat of terror attacks in the United States since Hamas attacked Israel a week ago.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told reporters it's possible that Hamas and other terror groups could call on their supporters to carry out attacks on U.S. soil.
"The threat is very much ongoing and in fact, the threat picture continues to evolve," Wray said. "Here in the U.S., we cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or other foreign terrorist organizations could exploit the conflict to call on their supporters to conduct attacks on our own soil."
In a call with reporters, Wray warned there has been an increase in reported threats, and Jews and Muslims alike as well as their institutions and houses of worship have been threatened, CBS News reports.
He said the bureau is "moving quickly to mitigate" the threats adding that security officials are also on the lookout for "lone actors" who might commit violence on their own.
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Terrorism experts have told CBN News Hamas and Hezbollah sleeper cells are operating within the United States.
And a comprehensive study by George Washington University last year found the most Hezbollah activity in Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and California.
Former FBI Special Agent Eric Caron, now a security and counter-terrorism consultant to governments, told CBN News, "We have over a thousand joint terrorism task force cases going on here in America today relating to Muslim extremists."
This year, authorities have caught 151 people on the FBI's Terrorism Watch list trying to illegally enter the U.S. through the southern border, 50 times higher than two years ago.
"The idea that they don't want to attack us again like a 9-11, but even bigger is foolish. They want to attack us. They want to destroy America," Caron said. 
