Top US intelligence official: Israel-Hamas war serves as recruitment tool for terror groups

6 July 2024, 12:54 pm 7 Edit

Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren testifies during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the "Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment" in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 11, 2024. (Mandel NGAN / AFP)

A top US intelligence official says the Israel-Hamas war and anger over US support for Israel is encouraging recruitment to terror groups, in an interview with The Washington Post.

Brett Holmgren, the assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, highlights arrests of individuals throughout Europe accused of planning terror attacks on Jewish and Israeli sites.

According to Holmgren, the October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists served as “a generational event that terrorist organizations in the Middle East and around the world use as a recruiting opportunity.”