Terrorist threats against the U.S. reached “a whole other level” after the Hamas attack on Israel, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress on Tuesday, saying the big players in terrorism have all renewed calls to attack America and its interests.

He said the level of threats has heightened since President Biden took office, though U.S. law enforcement is “better prepared to deal with them.”

“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 attack on Americans to a whole other level,” Mr. Wray said.

He said al Qaeda has issued its most specific call for attacks on the U.S. in years, Islamic State leaders have ordered followers to attack Jewish communities, and Hezbollah is eyeing U.S. targets in the Middle East.

Iran, meanwhile, has pushed proxy attacks on U.S. military bases.

Mr. Wray was testifying to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee alongside Christine Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

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They said the greatest threat to the U.S. homeland remains lone actors or small cells of radicalized people using readily available weapons to attack “soft targets.”

They said the threat from the Middle East, which declined in recent years, again occupies a more prominent place on their radar.

Ms. Abizaid said groups such as al Qaeda, which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S., have less operational capacity now but are seeking to use the Hamas attack on Israel as a chance to rebuild and recruit.

The threat to Jewish communities in the U.S. is particularly pronounced, Mr. Wray said.

Even before the Hamas attack, Jewish victims accounted for 60% of religion-based hate crimes. Jews comprise just 2.4% of the overall U.S. population.

Mr. Wray said the rate of attacks has likely increased since Oct. 7. The number of anti-Muslim hate crimes, he said, is “quite a bit smaller.”

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His statement contrasted with a growing trend of “both sides” arguments about threats to Muslim and Arab communities as well as Jews.

Mr. Wray said Jewish communities are victimized “by pretty much every terrorist organization across the spectrum.”

“This is a group that has the outrageous distinction of being uniquely targeted, and they need our help,” he said.

Iran loomed large over the hearing. Ms. Abizaid said the Islamic republic remains the largest state sponsor of terrorism.

She said no evidence right now directly links Iran to Hamas’ planning for the Oct. 7 attack but Tehran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, maintain the capacity for sophisticated attacks on U.S. interests.

For now, Iran and its proxies are trying to foster chaos but avoid anything that would “open up a concerted second front with the United States or Israel.”

“This is a very fine line to walk,” Ms. Abizaid said. “In the present regional context, their actions carry the potential for miscalculation, thus requiring heightened scrutiny in the region as we monitor for signs that the conflict could spread.”

She and Mr. Wray said Iran is particularly worrying given its attempts to assassinate former National Security Adviser John R. Bolton, to kill a U.S. journalist in New York and to meddle in the 2020 presidential election.

“If that’s not enough to convince people that Iran is a threat to the U.S., I don’t know what would be,” Mr. Wray said.

The security officials made a plea for Congress to renew snooping powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for scooping up and searching Americans’ communications as long as the target is a foreign person outside the U.S.

“It would be absolutely devastating if the next time an adversary like Iran or China conducts a major cyberattack we don’t see it coming because 702, one of our most important tools, was allowed to lapse,” Mr. Wray said.

Section 702 powers expire at the end of this year, and Congress seems reluctant to renew them without significant changes.

“The FBI continues to misuse authority under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,” said Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican. “You would think we’d be going after foreigners. But we are using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to go after Americans.”