The anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attacks may be a motivating factor for foreign terrorist organizations, violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators to threaten public safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned on Friday.
On October 7, Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and massacred over 1200 people. In addition to murdering both civilians and soldiers, the terror group abducted over 250 people – and over 100 of which remain in captivity in Gaza. The attack led to the current Israel-Hamas war that has seen large numbers of the Gazan population uprooted as Israel has vowed to end the terror group’s rule over the enclave and return the hostages.
Noting the rise in violent attacks and hoax calls on Jewish and Muslim institutions over the last year, the FBI and DHS warned extremists or hate crime perpetrators may “view the anniversary as an opportunity to conduct an attack or other high-profile, illegal activity.”
In particular, the statement warned that terrorist organizations and extremists may “exploit narratives related to the conflict to call for lone attackers to conduct violence in the United States.”
Noting the use of social media by these terror groups, DHS and FBI warned that external threats may coax remote lone-wolf attacks.
Self-immolation leading up to Oct. 7
On Saturday night, photojournalist Samuel Mena Jr. attempted to set himself on fire outside of the White House during an anti-Israel protest, the New York Post reported. The incident comes after a sequence of self-immolations inspired by US Airman Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire in protest for Gaza.
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