US border patrol are on high alert for Hamas militants and other anti-Israel terrorists trying to cross America's insecure southern border from Mexico, leaked government memo shows

US border guards are out on high alert for Hamas and other anti-Israel militants trying to cross America's insecure southern border with Mexico, leaked government papers show.

A bulletin from the San Diego Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office urges guards to be on the lookout for members of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Hamas's deadly raids on southern Israel on October 7 have stoked fears that fighters from anti-Israel armed groups may try to attack the Jewish state's main global backer — the US.

'Individuals inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwest border,' says the memo. 

The memo, shared online by Fox News, shows the patches worn by members of Middle Eastern militant groups  

The one-pager urges CBP guards to be on the lookout for 'fighters motivated by ideology' from the Middle East who are passing through Mexico into the US.

It features the logos sometimes worn by members of Hamas, which controls Gaza, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese militia.

They should focus on single, military-age men and look out for the patches, weapons, or camouflage gear.

Guards should ask them about their plans to return to the Middle East, whether they have military training, or any associations they have with Israel or Palestinian areas.

The memo was released on Friday and has since been shared with Fox News and other media outlets.

CBP intelligence teams regularly generate reports on threats to border security.

Naming specific groups may indicate they have intelligence about a looming danger.

US border guards have been told to watch out for Hamas fighters trying to enter the US 

US border guards are scouring for members of the Hamas militant group, which controls Gaza  

The warning comes as America faces record flows of people trying to cross the US-Mexico border.

There were a total of 269,735 encounters at the southern border in September, CBP data show.

That brought the total number of encounters in 2023 to 2.47 million.

Among those seeking entry to the US were people on the FBI's terror watch list.

Guards arrested 18 people on that danger list in September.

In the financial year to September, CBP encountered 169 people on the terror watch list.

A US border guard apprehending two camouflaged Mexican migrants in Arizona

The warning comes as Israel continues to launch air strikes on Gaza in an effort to crush Hamas militants who stunned the country with a deadly October 7 attack.

Hamas is not known to have a substantial presence beyond Gaza.

But Hezbollah is known to have fundraising operations across South America and has had members spread across the continent for decades. 

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an anti-immigration campaign group, said the threat from Middle Eastern militants was at a two-decade high.

'This month's terrorist attacks against Israel, and threats of global jihad issued by Hamas and their overlords in Tehran, mean that the open-borders policies of the Biden administration have placed the American public at greater risk than at any time since 9/11,' said Stein.