Belgrade Police Kill Knifeman Who Attacked Guard Outside Israeli Embassy

Police in Belgrade shot and killed a young man who stabbed a guard outside the Israeli Embassy just after midnight on Wednesday. The assailant, who was a minor, wielded two knives during the confrontation with a member of the elite Gendarmerie unit assigned to protect the diplomatic site.

Interior Minister Ivica Dacic confirmed the officer sustained slight wounds to the face before returning fire in self-defense. Dacic stated that police are officially treating the event as a terrorist attack. Consequently, authorities raised the national terror threat level to the highest category and increased patrols at strategic locations across the country.

The attacker was identified as a resident of Sabac, a town in western Serbia. Dacic explained that security agencies had been monitoring the suspect prior to the incident. He noted that the young man was a supporter of the Islamic State group and maintained a social media profile featuring the organization's black flag on Instagram.

During the assault, the assailant shouted Allahu Akbar, which translates to God is great in Arabic. Police photos from the scene show the guard's booth surrounded by tape, with heavily armed officers securing the perimeter in the area.

The violence occurred against a volatile political backdrop. Serbia held a critical parliamentary election just days earlier on Sunday. In that vote, the long-ruling former President Aleksandar Vucic lost to a youth-led movement following nearly two years of public protests. However, Vucic and his supporters retain control of the police force because a new government has not yet been formed.

The attack also landed days after Israel conducted its own parliamentary vote on Tuesday. Exit polls from that election indicated no single party secured a clear majority. This incident marks the second time in under three years that a guard at this specific post has been injured by an armed intruder. In June 2024, a man with a crossbow wounded an officer at the same location before being shot.

The Israeli Embassy sits in a well-off district of Belgrade, near the U.S. Embassy. The site is protected by an elite police unit whose officers carry automatic weapons. Serbia has historically maintained close diplomatic and economic ties with Israel.