Delhi Police receive call about blast near Israel Embassy, staff ‘unharmed’

Blast report near Israel Embassy: The police are searching the area.

Updated on: Dec 26, 2023, 22:51:50 IST

By HT News Desk

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New Delhi: The Delhi police today received a phone call claiming there was a blast near the Israel Embassy. The authorities haven't found any explosives in the area so far.

Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Services, told ANI they received a call informing them about a bomb blast near the Embassy. "So far nothing has been found at the location," he added.

The authorities are still searching the area.

News agency Reuters, quoting Israel's foreign ministry, reported that an explosion was heard near the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi. All of its staff are unharmed.

An embassy spokesperson told the agency that the loud sound was close to the Israel Embassy.

"We can confirm that around 5:20 there was a blast at close proximity to the embassy," Israeli Embassy spokesperson Guy Nir said.

Israel Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Ohad Nakash Kaynar said: "This evening several minutes after 5, an explosion occurred in close proximity of the Embassy. All our diplomats and workers are safe. Our security teams are working in full cooperation with local Delhi security and they will investigate the matter further".

The Delhi police's crime unit team and the forensics team are on the spot.

An eyewitness told the media that the blast sounded like a tyre-burst.

"This happened around 5 pm, I was on my duty and heard a huge sound. When I came out, I saw smoke coming from the top of a tree, that's all I saw...The police have taken my statement," he said.

This comes amid a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in which thousands of people have been killed. The war was triggered by an attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, killing over 1200 people, mostly civilians.

In 2021, a low intensity blast outside the Israeli embassy in Delhi sent shockwaves across the world. The National Investigation Agency is still investigating the case.

Also read: Blast reported near Israel embassy in Delhi, car windscreens damaged

The low-intensity improvised device had gone off around 5pm near Bungalow number 5, APJ Abdul Kalam Road, near Jindal House, on January 29, 2021. Although nobody was killed or injured, the blast left a crater and damaged three cars parked nearby.

Immediately after the blast, Israel had said Iran was behind the attack. Other than the fact that the blast occurred on the 29th anniversary of establishment of India-Israel diplomatic ties (on January 29, 1992), a letter found at the blast site had said the attack was to avenge the killings of Iran Quds Commander Qassem Soleimani.

With inputs from agencies

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HT News Desk
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