A joint federal intelligence bulletin obtained by CBS News warns of potential violent extremism and hate crimes committed in response to the anniversary. of the attack of October 7 against Israel by the militant group Hamas and the resulting conflict in Gaza.
The bulletin, authored by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center, was first distributed by federal law enforcement to local law enforcement partners Wednesday evening .
The agencies estimated that the first year of the attack “as well as any further significant escalation” in the war between Israel and Hamas “could be a motivating factor for violent extremists and perpetrators of hate crimes to engage into violence or threatening public safety. » we read in the bulletin.
The bulletin provides several recent examples of such threats, including the September 6 arrest of a Pakistani national by Canadian authorities, accused of planning a mass shooting at a Jewish center in New York.
This bulletin also comes as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East. Following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last week who killed Hassan Nasrallah, longtime leader of Hezbollah, Iran responded Tuesday with a salvo of missiles on Israel, launch nearly 200 ballistic missilesmost of which were intercepted by Israeli missile defense systems. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are proxies of Iran.
Israel also started limited ground operations in southern Lebanon this week.
Following the Iranian missile attack, a senior DHS official told CBS News during a press briefing Wednesday, “I don’t know that we have a very clear assessment at this point at this point.” We’re literally in the early days of trying to figure out what’s going on. Perhaps these are exactly Iranian intentions. We believe, however, that Iran has a global capability, that it can take advantage of it, that it can target American interests around the world – that it certainly has the reach and the capacity to do that, to do that . conduct, to interact with individuals here in the United States in a manner that presents a potential threat to the United States, here in our homeland.
The official added that this is an area of “almost daily engagement” between DHS, the FBI and other law enforcement partners.
Iran was involved in “a variety of other efforts following October 7,” the official noted, including “releasing fabricated documents in an attempt to increase people’s anger over the post-October 7 situation.” october”.
The bulletin warned that “the expansion of the conflict further into the region could serve as motivation for violence against Jewish, Israeli or American targets in retaliation for civilian deaths, and we cannot rule out the possibility that threat actors in the United States react with violence until the death” of Nasrallah.
Intelligence analysts revealed in the bulletin that the Oct. 7 attack and the war between Israel and Hamas “have been cited as sociopolitical grievances that influenced the mobilization of some individuals toward violence in the United States,” adding that “Hate crimes increased shortly after the attacks and declined over the years.” in recent months to levels consistent with pre-conflict levels, a trend that reflects hate crimes committed following previous conflicts or international events. »
In the months following October 7, reports of anti-Semitic incidents surged in the United States The Anti-Defamation League said it recorded 2,031 anti-Semitic incidents nationwide between October 7 and December 7, 2023, an increase of 337% compared to the same period in 2022.
“Over the past year, we have observed conflict-related violent extremist activity and hate crimes in the United States,” the bulletin read. “Jewish, Muslim or Arab institutions, including synagogues, mosques and community centers, as well as large public gatherings, such as memorials, vigils or other demonstrations, constitute attractive targets for violent attacks or for Hoax threats from various threat actors. including local violent extremists, domestic violent extremists, and hate crime perpetrators who may view the anniversary as an opportunity to carry out an attack or other large-scale illegal activities.
The bulletin also warns that foreign terrorist organizations have created media that compare the October 7 and September 11 attacks and encourage “lone attackers to use simple tactics like guns, knives, Molotov cocktails and vehicles -rammed against Western targets in retaliation for the deaths in 2001.” Gaza Individuals inspired by this online messaging could act alone to carry out an attack with little or no warning.
