Video footage appeared to show the moment an Israeli diplomat was stabbed outside of Israel’s Embassy in China, on the day Hamas’ leader called for a “Day of Jihad.”
An unidentified man from the Israeli Embassy was observed in the video being stabbed multiple times as he lay on the sidewalk before eventually walking away, according to the South China Morning Post.
The man later informed police that he was an employee of the Israeli embassy and was taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries and was reported to be in stable condition.
“An Israeli employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked today,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement, noting that the attack on Friday afternoon had not occurred in the embassy.
#BREAKING: A diplomat at Israel’s Embassy in China has been stabbed in #Beijing. Israel’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed the attack and said the victim is hospitalized and in stable condition.
— Adelle Nazarian (@AdelleNaz) October 13, 2023
[WARNING: graphic footage] pic.twitter.com/tybZyZhRoo
Video footage circulating throughout social media showed a man in a white shirt, with a knife repeatedly stabbing the embassy employee in the shoulder and the chest, as the two men engaged in a brief struggle.
Later in the video, blood can be seen on the ground as the victim walks away and the suspected attacker limps away.
One witness told the outlet that the attack had occurred at a nearby market about less than a mile, or 1.5 km, from the Israeli embassy. The witness added that screaming had been heard, followed by a man in a blood-stained plaid shirt observed resting on a car.
The U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the U.S. was “shocked by today’s attack on an Israeli diplomat in Beijing.”
We are shocked by today's attack on an Israeli diplomat in Beijing. I spoke with Israel's Ambassador to China, Irit Ben-Abba, and have offered our full support to the Israeli Embassy and Israeli community in China.
— Ambassador Nicholas Burns (@USAmbChina) October 13, 2023
“I spoke with Israel’s Ambassador to China, Irit Ben-Abba, and have offered our full support to the Israeli Embassy and Israeli community in China,” Burns wrote.
Several police officers in plain clothes were seen stationed outside of the Israeli embassy in Beijing in addition to plainclothes officers who were stationed outside of the Palestinian embassy on Friday evening, according to the outlet.
The attack comes days after former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal called for Muslims to engage in global protests against Israel and in support of Palestinians, according to Reuters.
Muslims across the world were instructed to “head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,” Meshaal said in a statement to the outlet. “Tribes of Jordan, sons of Jordan, brothers and sisters of Jordan… This is a moment of truth and the borders are close to you, you all know your responsibility.”
“To all scholars who teach Jihad…to all who teach and learn, this is a moment for the application,” Meshaal continued.
Meshaal’s call for protests comes as Israel has ramped up its attacks on Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization. Israel Defense Forces said it had launched airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, striking more than 200 targets.
To date, more than 1,300 Israelis have been killed as a result of the ongoing violence, almost all from Saturday’s brutal attacks which included babies, children, women, and entire families murdered.
At least 1,799 Palestinians are reported to have been killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes. More than 7,000 Palestinians, including 583 children and 351 women, have been reported to be injured since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel last Saturday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says, according to CNN.
