BREAKING: Israeli embassy employee attacked in Beijing

An Israeli embassy worker in Beijing was attacked on Friday, Israel’s foreign ministry said.

“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 in the Chinese capital.

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

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

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 over 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, located in a diplomatic neighbourhood of northeast Beijing, appeared to be operating normally on Friday afternoon, an AFP journalist saw.

Security personnel asked AFP not to film the site, where no additional policing was visible from the outside.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond for comment.