Denmark and Sweden investigate attacks on Israeli embassies

Police in Denmark said on Wednesday they were investigating two explosions in the immediate vicinity of the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen’s northern suburbs.

No injuries were reported and it is too early to say how large the explosions were, a police spokesman told reporters at the scene.

“It is clear that the Israeli embassy is in the immediate vicinity and that is of course also an angle we are looking at,” said Copenhagen Police Deputy Commissioner Jakob Hansen.

A large area was cordoned off and photos in local media showed heavily armed Danish soldiers guarding the embassy.

In neighboring Sweden, police said on Wednesday that a shooting had taken place at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm the day before, adding that no one was injured and that an investigation had been opened.

Police said they heard “a bang” on a street near the embassy in central Stockholm just before 6pm on Tuesday.

“We have made discoveries that indicate a shooting at the Israeli embassy, ​​but we do not want to reveal exactly what finds have been made as there is an ongoing investigation,” a police spokesperson said.

Swedish police later added that information indicated the embassy building had been hit by shots.

The spokesperson also said no one was injured and that an investigation had been opened into aggravated weapons offense, endangering others and unlawful threats.

The incidents in Denmark and Sweden came as tensions remained high in the Middle East, with Iran firing a barrage of missiles into Israeli territory and Israel vowing to make Iran ‘pay’ for the attack.

Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, several incidents have been reported apparently targeting Israeli interests in Sweden.

In February, police found a grenade on the grounds of the Israeli embassy compound, which the ambassador said was an attempted attack.

Gunshots were fired outside the Israeli embassy in mid-May, prompting the country to step up security measures around Israeli interests and Jewish community institutions.

The Scandinavian country’s intelligence service, Sapo, said in late May that Iran was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden – a claim Iran denied.

The Nordic country has also reported an increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes since the start of the war in Gaza.

In early June, police said they had found a “suspected explosive object” outside the offices of Israeli military technology company Elbit Systems, known for its unmanned aerial systems, in Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg. (agencies)