Israel says it will deploy rescue mission after 'violent incident' targeting Israeli citizens in Amsterdam

Friday, 8 November 2024 07:26

The Israeli military has said it is preparing to deploy an immediate rescue mission following "a very violent incident" targeting Israeli citizens in Amsterdam.

"The mission will be deployed using cargo aircraft and include medical and rescue teams," the Israeli Defence Forces said.

The rescue will be coordinated with the Dutch government, it added.

Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday morning that the Israeli prime minister had been informed of the details of "a very violent incident" in Amsterdam and had ordered for two rescue planes to be sent there immediately.

Israel's national security ministry has also urged its citizens in the Dutch city to stay in their hotel, the prime minister's office added.

The incident has been linked to a football match at the Johan Cruyff Arena in which Ajax Amsterdam defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-0, according to reports.

Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a post on X: "Fans who went to see a football game, encountered anti-Semitism and were attacked with unimaginable cruelty just because of their Jewishness and Israeliness."

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a post on X that he had "followed the news from Amsterdam with disgust."

He added that he was in touch with Mr Netanyahu about the incident and said the city was now "calm".

Local police said 57 people had been held after the game as pro-Palestine demonstrators had tried to reach Ajax's ground, the Johan Cruyff Arena, even though protests there had been forbidden by the city.

Fans had left the arena without incident but clashes were reported in the city centre during the night, police said.

Video posted on social media showed crowds running through the streets and a man being beaten.

Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar has asked the Dutch government to help Israeli citizens arrive safely at the airport, Saar told his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp in a phone call on Friday, news agency Reuters reported.

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