U.S. sees no specific, credible threat to homeland as Hamas calls for ‘day of sacrifice’

U.S. intelligence and homeland security officials are “actively monitoring” whether Hamas’ attack on Israel over the weekend is inspiring violence within the United States, particularly in light of a call by Hamas leadership for a global uprising on Friday throughout the free world, U.S. officials told reporters on Thursday evening.

So far, the intelligence community does not “at present have any specific and credible intelligence that would indicate any potential threat to the United States stemming from Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel at this time,” one Department of Homeland Security official said.

“More specifically, we’re also working with partners today to assess the potential impact on the homeland of the recent calls for action by Hamas leadership that were put out into the public domain over the past 24 hours,” the official said, noting that the agency is working closely with state and local partners to be prepared in the event a threat emerges.

Hamas militants infiltrated Israel on Saturday and slaughtered over 1,200 civilians, marking the deadliest day for Jews worldwide since the Holocaust. Israel’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza over the last six days have displaced more than 300,000 Palestinians and killed over 1,500, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

On Wednesday, Khaled Mashal, the longtime former leader of Hamas, called on supporters around the world to rally for a “day of sacrifice” on Friday in support of the Palestinian cause, naming the date as “the Al-Aqsa Flood Friday,” a reference to a holy mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Earlier on Friday, President Joe Biden was briefed at the White House by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Chris Wray, Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the ongoing threat assessment against the homeland and efforts to safeguard the nation’s most vulnerable communities, including Jews, Arabs and Muslims, the White House said.

“We remain focused on the threat terrorism poses to our country,” Garland said in a statement after the meeting. “Today, I briefed President Biden and his national security team on the Justice Department’s dedication of critical resources to monitor the potential threat of terrorism here at home.”

In a speech on antisemitism Thursday, Mayorkas said he has been shocked at the sight of a demonstrator waving a swastika during a rally in Times Square on Sunday, of chants to “gas the Jews” at a rally in front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia and of posts on social media “awash in praise for Hamas terrorists.”

“Every Jewish person has felt the sting of antisemitism at some point in our lives, and the impact of an act of hate is lasting,” Mayorkas said. “The events of the last five days have awoken a sometimes-deep-seated, sometimes-generations-old fear in Jewish people everywhere. The paradigm for antisemitism, and antisemitic violence, has shifted precipitously over the past five days. So must, too, the urgency with which we confront it.”

In Miami, police said Thursday they’re not aware of any unusual threats and aren’t taking any unusual precautions as tensions rise with Israel and Hamas at war in the Middle East.

Assistant Miami Police Chief Armando Aguilar Jr., said police are also aware of a planned gathering of potential Palestinian sympathizers set for Friday afternoon near the Freedom Tower.

“We’re taking all the steps we would take whenever we’re handling other demonstrations,” Aguilar said. “And we’re also taking into consideration events around the globe.”

Miami Herald staff writer Charles Rabin contributed to this report.