The key facts
- The underage attacker was shot dead by police after attacking an Israeli Embassy guard in Belgrade.
- Serbia has raised its terrorism threat level to maximum after the incident, which was classified as a terrorist act.
- This is the second attack on the Israeli Embassy in the country in three years, occurring amid a change of power in Serbia.
Attack on the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade
On the night of October 28, 2026, an armed incident occurred in Belgrade outside the building of the Israeli Embassy, during which the attacker was shot dead by a police officer. According to a statement by Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, a minor Serbian citizen, reportedly 16 years old, approached the officer with two knives and wounded him in the face, after which he was killed in self-defense. The attacker, who, according to the minister, shouted 'Allahu Akbar,' had previously been under surveillance by security services as a supporter of the terrorist organization 'Islamic State' (IS), as evidenced by posts on his Instagram account. As a result of the attack, a gendarmerie officer sustained minor injuries and was discharged from the hospital the same day.
Government response and threat level
After the incident, the Serbian authorities raised the country's terrorism threat level to maximum (the 'red level'), which led to an increased police presence and stricter checks at critical infrastructure facilities and in crowded places. Minister Dacic characterized what happened as a 'suspected terrorist act', noting that the security services had been monitoring the suspect. The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed an attempted terrorist attack, stating that embassy staff were unharmed because the mission was closed at the time of the attack. The investigation into the circumstances of the attack is ongoing; the attacker's identity has not been officially established, but it is reported that he may have been a native of the western Serbian city of Sabac.
Context and previous attacks
This event was the second such incident at the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade in the past three years. In June 2024, an unknown assailant attacked a guard with a crossbow, wounding him in the neck, and was then shot dead by police; at that time, the attacker was identified as a 25-year-old Serb who had converted to Islam. The current attack took place against the backdrop of significant political changes in Serbia: just days earlier, early parliamentary elections were held, in which a student-led movement defeated the party of Aleksandar Vucic, who had ruled the country for 12 years. Despite the change of power, control over the security structures still remains with the former elites, and a new government has not yet been formed. The incident also coincided in time with the parliamentary elections in Israel held the day before.
