Israeli embassy employee attacked in Beijing, motive for assault unclear

BEIJING – An Israeli embassy worker in Beijing was attacked on Friday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said. Video geolocated by AFP shows the man was stabbed with a knife on a street in the Chinese capital.

“An Israeli employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked today,” a Foreign Ministry statement said, adding that the attack did not take place at the embassy compound.

“The employee is being treated at hospital and is in stable condition,” the statement said.

“The motive for the assault is being looked into.”

A video posted on social media and geolocated by AFP to an area around 1.5km from the embassy shows a man brandishing a knife repeatedly stabbing another man, with blood visible on the pavement.

The man with the blade can later be seen leaving the site, weapon in hand.

In another video of the same location, security staff are seen questioning people and making phone calls.

A man then rushes in on a bike to where the blood-soaked and conscious victim is sitting, shouting “ambulance!” to onlookers.

The victim is seen being carried away by several others, likely for medical treatment, to a vehicle out of frame.

In the video, a policeman can be heard saying he is from Xinyuanli police station.

A person who answered the phone at that station told AFP they were “not clear” about the details of the case and referred a journalist to higher-level authorities.

An AFP journalist at the scene said eight plainclothes police officers were standing around.

There was no police tape cordoning off the area and no visible blood stains on the ground, which were seen in one video posted on social media.

Three shopkeepers at stores directly in front of the scene of the attack said they did not see what took place.

The attack comes after Hamas gunmen killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and took about 150 hostages in their surprise attack on Saturday.

Israel has retaliated by raining air and artillery strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip for six days, killing more than 1,350 people.

A statement on the Israeli Foreign Ministry website warned that Hamas had called on “all of its supporters around the world to hold a Day of Rage” on Friday to “attack Israelis and Jews”.

“It is reasonable to assume that there will be protest events in various countries that are liable to turn violent,” the statement said.

The Israeli embassy, in a diplomatic neighbourhood in north-east Beijing, appeared to be operating normally on Friday afternoon, an AFP journalist saw.

Security personnel asked AFP not to film the site.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond for comment.