Serbia raises security alert after attack outside Israeli Embassy in Belgrade

At about 00:15 local time on Wednesday, 28 October, an assailant armed with two knives attacked a gendarmerie officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia's Interior Ministry says. The officer shot and killed the attacker in self-defence, according to the ministry; the guard suffered a minor facial cut. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the embassy was closed at the time and no embassy staff were injured. The [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/5b6d28dc67b691d73b4ee6e4eae760e1) independently reported the incident and the guard's injury. Interior Minister Ivica Dačić has raised Serbia's terror threat to its highest, red level and ordered increased police presence at key locations. He described the attacker as a minor whose identity had not been established and alleged support for Islamic State based on an online profile. That affiliation has not been independently verified. The Israeli Foreign Ministry says the incident is under investigation. The attack follows a separate crossbow assault on a guard at the same embassy in June 2024; authorities have not said the two incidents are connected. The attacker's identity, whether anyone else was involved and the full motive remain unknown. [Serbian Interior Ministry statement](https://www.srbija.gov.rs/vest/en/290679/terrorist-attack-in-front-of-israeli-embassy-in-belgrade); [Israel Foreign Ministry confirmation, reported by The Times of Israel](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/foreign-ministry-no-embassy-staff-injured-in-attempted-terror-attack-on-belgrade-embassy-incident-under-investigation/).