In a disturbing incident on a Friday in the heart of the Chinese capital, an employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was subjected to a violent attack, as reported by Israel’s foreign ministry. Shockingly, the assailant wielded a knife, inflicting wounds upon the embassy worker on a Beijing street. Notably, this assault did not transpire within the embassy’s secured compound.
The injured embassy staff member is currently receiving medical care at a local hospital and is reported to be in stable condition. Authorities are diligently working to ascertain the motive behind this brazen attack.
The gravity of the situation prompted a swift response from the U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, who expressed his deep concern. He extended his full support to the Israeli embassy and the Israeli community residing in China. Ambassador Burns conveyed his shock in a social media post and confirmed his direct communication with Israel’s Ambassador to China, Irit Ben-Abba.
Video footage, expertly geolocated by AFP, clearly reveals the harrowing incident, transpiring approximately one mile from the embassy. The footage captures a man repeatedly stabbing his victim with a knife, leading to a distressing pool of blood on the pavement. The attacker is later seen departing the scene with the weapon in hand.
Additional video recordings from the vicinity show security personnel promptly arriving on the scene, engaging in questioning and making necessary calls. A concerned passerby urgently arrives on a bicycle, drawing attention to the need for immediate medical assistance by shouting “ambulance!”
Swiftly, the wounded victim is carried away by several individuals, likely for vital medical treatment, with their actions obscured from view by a nearby vehicle.
During the video, an officer identifies himself as being from the Xinyuanli police station. When AFP contacted the station, they were unable to provide comprehensive details and directed inquiries to higher-level authorities. Notably, there were eight plainclothes police officers present at the location of the attack.
Remarkably, three storekeepers situated directly in front of the site expressed their inability to provide any eyewitness account of the incident.
This shocking act of violence transpired against the backdrop of escalated tensions, as the Israeli military commenced a bombing campaign on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza following a surprise offensive by the Hamas group on the preceding Saturday.
Remarkably, despite the distressing incident, the Israeli embassy, situated in the diplomatic enclave of northeast Beijing, appeared to maintain its regular operations on the same Friday afternoon. Security personnel at the scene courteously requested that AFP refrain from capturing visuals, and there was no conspicuous increase in external security measures.
At the time of reporting, the Chinese foreign ministry had not issued an official statement in response to the incident.
