An Israeli embassy employee in Beijing was attacked on Friday, Israel’s foreign ministry said.
A video has emerged on the internet showing a man being stabbed to death on a street in the Chinese capital. A foreign ministry statement said, adding that the attack did not take place at the embassy compound:
An Israeli employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked today. The employee is being treated at hospital and is in stable condition. The motive for the assault is being looked into.
A video posted on social media and geolocated by AFP to an area a kilometre and a half (about 1 mile) from the Israeli embassy in Beijing shows a man stabbing another man several times, with blood visible on the pavement. Another video from the same location shows security personnel interviewing people and making phone calls. Then a man on a bicycle rides up to where the injured man is sitting, shouting “ambulance!”
The attack came after Hamas militants had killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in Israel on Saturday and had taken about 150 hostages in a surprise attack. Israel responded with six days of air and artillery strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,350 people.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry warns on its website that Hamas has called on “all its supporters around the world to hold a ‘Day of Rage’ on Friday” to “attack Israelis and Jews.” The statement said:
It is reasonable to assume that there will be protest events in various countries that are liable to turn violent.
The Israeli embassy, located in the diplomatic quarter in northeastern Beijing, was operating as normal on Friday afternoon, an AFP reporter said. Security officials asked AFP not to film the location because no additional police officers were visible outside.
Police are yet to make any comment on the case.
