WASHINGTON Ñ The FBI has targeted Hamas supporters in Florida in the federal investigation into the spate of suicide jet-hijackings that rocked the United States.

FBI agents have raided the homes of four passengers of the hijacked planes, two of them which destroyed the World Trade Center. The residents lived in south Florida and were said to have been active in the Palestinian Hamas movement.

The White House held an emergency meeting on late Tuesday and decided on what officials termed draconian measures to respond to the bombings. The Bush administration has been urged to launch a campaign against international terrorist groups, including those aligned with the Palestinian Authority.

"The search is under way for those who are behind these evil acts," Bush said. "I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law-enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between those who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Federal authorities have investigated Hamas supporters in Tampa and other areas of Florida since the early 1990s. Several key Islamic terrorists, including Ramadan Shalah, the current head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, were active in southern Florida a decade ago.

The FBI raid came after the National Security Agency intercepted a conversation between suspected agents of Bin Laden. One of the agents reported to his colleague a successful strike against two targets in the United States.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the NSA intercept led to the identification of at least one Bin Laden aide. Hatch said U.S. intelligence had failed to effectively monitor the Bin Laden group.

The FBI raids have sparked alarm among American Muslim groups connected to Hamas. Muslim activists said they fear an American backlash that could undo years of lobbying to ease immigration restrictions in the United States.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations appealed to Muslims to donate blood and assist in rescue contributions in New York and Washington. The group, which has supported Hamas in the United States, called on additional police protection for mosques around the country.

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