Australian police have announced the foiling of an anti-Semitic terrorist attack involving explosives found in a caravan near Sydney, New South Wales.
Police found the caravan on January 19 in Durala, a suburb 36 km (22 miles) northwest of Sydney city centre, New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a news conference.
“That caravan contained an amount of explosives and some indication that those explosives might be used in some form of antisemitic attack,” he added.
Hudson assured that the threat has been fully contained and no longer poses a danger to the Jewish community. He confirmed the arrests, but declined to disclose the number of detainees or the charges against them.
For his part, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said more than 100 police officers were investigating the incident as part of a “joint counter-terrorism operation” involving state and federal police. “This is the detection of a potential mass casualty event. It can only be labelled in one way – terrorism,” he noted.
In recent months, Australia has seen a spike in attacks on synagogues, properties and cars since the Gaza war began in late 2023, killing more than 47,000 people, mostly women and children. Australian authorities have also labelled the alleged attacks as “anti-Semitic” incidents.
