The director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation made an unannounced trip to Israel to meet with the country’s law and intelligence agencies as it conducts an offensive in Gaza, AFP quotes the FBI as saying.

Christopher Wray also met with FBI agents based in Tel Aviv, according to a statement from the bureau, stressing the importance of their work on Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon. He reiterated the FBI’s support of Israel in the wake of the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

“The FBI’s partnership with our Israeli counterparts is longstanding, close, and robust, and I’m confident the closeness of our agencies contributed to our ability to move so quickly in response to these attacks, and to ensure our support is as seamless as possible,” Wray was quoted as saying in the statement.

Wray’s “key focus” is the FBI’s efforts against foreign organizations praising the attacks on Israel and threatening to attack the United States, both abroad and at home, the bureau statement said.

It said the FBI “has and will continue to be responsive to requests” from Israel for support.