Law enforcement authorities in Denmark and Sweden reported on Wednesday that they are currently investigating incidents that occurred in the vicinity of Israeli embassies located in their respective capital cities. These incidents transpired amidst escalating tensions within the Middle Eastern region.
In Denmark, twin blasts were reported overnight in the “immediate proximity” to the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, Danish police spokesman Jakob Hansen told reporters Wednesday morning.
Military Police guard the perimeter of the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, on October 2, 2024. Danish police said on Wednesday they were investigating two blasts that went off in an area near the Israeli embassy in the capital. (Photo by Emil HELMS / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)
In Sweden, police confirmed that the Israeli embassy in Stockholm had been targeted in a shooting on Tuesday just before 6:00 pm (1600 GMT).
No injuries were reported in either incident.
“It’s too early to say if there is a link” between the blasts and the Israeli embassy, Hansen said of the Copenhagen incidents.
By mid-morning, the area in Copenhagen was cordoned off and police officers were working at the scene, an AFP correspondent observed.
Denmark’s intelligence service, PET, said they were monitoring the situation “closely” and assisting police with their investigation.
“We are also in dialogue with the Israeli embassy about security, and are constantly assessing the scale of the security measures already implemented in relation to a number of Jewish locations,” PET said in a statement to AFP.
Writing on X, Israel’s ambassador to Denmark David Akov said he was “shocked by the appalling incident near the embassy a few hours ago.”
– Heavy surveillance –
Swedish police said in a statement that information indicated the embassy building had been hit by shots.
“We’ve made finds that indicate a shooting at Israel’s embassy, but we don’t want to disclose exactly what finds have been made since there is an ongoing investigation,” Rebecca Landberg, press officer at Stockholm police, told AFP.
Landberg added that an investigation had been opened into an aggravated weapons offence, endangerment of others and unlawful threats.
Police had made no arrests, but Landberg said that the area was under heavy surveillance by cameras and police were actively gathering and analysing material.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, several incidents apparently targeting Israeli interests in Sweden have been reported.
In February, police found a grenade on the grounds of the Israeli embassy compound, which the ambassador said was an attempted attack.
In mid-May, gunshots were fired outside the Israeli embassy, which prompted the country to boost security measures around Israeli interests and Jewish community institutions.
The incidents in the Scandinavian countries came as tensions in the Middle East are spiralling, with Iran firing a barrage of missiles at Israeli territory and Israel vowing to make Iran “pay” for the attack.
AFP