US law enforcement and intelligence agencies launch full court press to focus on Hamas following Israel attack

US authorities have begun a new effort to target fundraising and other forms of support for Hamas, including any tentacles the terrorist group has into the United States, current and former US officials tell CNN.

The move is part of a broader reassessment ongoing in US intelligence and law enforcement agencies about the threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, in the wake of the escalating violence in Israel and Gaza.

Hamas has long been known to have a network of supporters in the US that it uses largely for fundraising. But because the group has traditionally focused on attacking Israel, American authorities believed it was less likely to carry out attacks against US interests or on US soil.

Until the events of October 7, the view of Hamas, one US official said, was “they’re a low priority. They’re fundraising.”

Now, the situation in Israel and Gaza has led US law enforcement agencies to shift and launch a full-court press to target Hamas’ sources of funding and move intelligence resources to focus on the group.

Another US official said that in recent years, intelligence officials viewed Hamas and Hezbollah as on par with Irish republican groups and Puerto Rican extremist groups -– all of which have a presence in the US but aren’t considered a major threat to Americans.

Because of that, national security officials poured more resources into cracking down on terrorist groups, like ISIS and al Qaeda that do carry out attacks against US persons or interests, sources said.

“That’s your main goal, to prevent acts of terrorism,” Gregory Gonzalez, a former prosecutor with the Justice Department’s national security division, said in an interview. Gonzalez said that prosecutors, with limited resources, “have to focus on preventing physical harm first to American citizens.”
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