FBI Director Christopher Wray has suggested that threats of terrorist attacks in the United States have been raised to a new high, triggered by the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas.

Wray spoke before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

He noted that multiple foreign terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda, have called for attacks against targets, such as the United States and Jewish communities in the United States, in the past few weeks.

Wray said, "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 other level."

He added, "The greatest terrorism threat to our homeland is posed by lone actors or small cells of individuals who typically radicalize to violence online." Wray noted these potential threats are not receiving direction from foreign terrorist organizations.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also gave a testimony at the hearing.

He said that as the conflict continues, "Hate directed at Jewish students, communities, and institutions add to a preexisting increase in antisemitism in the United States and around the world."

Mayorkas added his department is closely monitoring the situation, and will continue to help communities "respond to a range of public safety challenges."