Belgrade guard shoots dead knife attacker at Israeli Embassy

Residents of Belgrade are facing tighter security checks and a heavier police presence at major infrastructure sites and crowded public areas. The government moved to the highest threat level, designated as red alert, following a fatal incident at the Israeli Embassy late Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated that a police guard stationed outside the embassy was slightly wounded by a knife-wielding assailant. The officer shot the attacker dead in what Dacic described as an act of self-defense. The ministry is treating the event as a terrorist attack.

Dacic identified the attacker as a minor from the western town of Sabac. Security agencies had previously monitored the individual as a supporter of Islamic State. The minister noted that the assailant maintained an Instagram account featuring the black flag of the group. During the confrontation, the attacker shouted the Arabic phrase Allahu Akbar.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the incident as an attempted terrorist attack near its diplomatic mission. The ministry reported that no embassy staff were injured and that an investigation into the event is currently underway.

The violence occurred shortly after Serbian voters completed early parliamentary elections. It also happened one day after Israeli citizens cast ballots in their own parliamentary vote, a contest that has not yet produced a clear winner.

The embassy in Belgrade has been the site of a similar attack before. In June 2024, a 25-year-old Islamic convert fired a crossbow at the same location, seriously wounding a Serbian police officer before being shot and killed.