Blast near Israel Embassy in Delhi: 'Saw smoke coming from top of a tree,' says eyewitness
The Delhi Police received a call about a blast near the Israel Embassy in Delhi on Tuesday evening. As teams of police reached the spot, a witness to the incident said, “This happened around 5 pm. I was on my duty and heard a loud sound, similar to that of a bursting tyre." Israeli Embassy spokesperson Guy Nir told Reuters that there was a blast at close proximity to the embassy around 5:20 on Tuesday. Israel's foreign ministry said all staff were unharmed following the blast. Israeli authorities were cooperating with their Indian counterparts to investigate the cause of the explosion.
Police and other officials rushed near the Embassy of Israel after Delhi police received a call about a blast near the embassy, in New Delhi district, Tuesday evening. According to Delhi Fire Services officials, the call was received at 5.47 pm and was transferred from the PCR (police control room) of the Delhi Police.
Following an initial probe, the Delhi Police said no explosive has been found so far but search operation is still on. They, however, found a letter addressed to Israeli ambassador near 'the “explosion" site behind Israel embassy premises, said police sources.
The explosion in New Delhi comes amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, where more than 20,000 people have been killed. Israel is facing extreme pressure from the rest of the world to tone down its airstrikes over the Gaza region and many organizations in India took out protests against the death of Palestinians in Gaza.
This is not the first time that an explosion has been reported near the Israel Embassy in New Delhi. In 2021, a low-intensity blast had occurred outside the Israeli embassy. Although no one was hurt in the blast, it left a crater on the road and three cars were damaged in the explosion. India's anti-terror body National Investigation Agency (NIA) had taken over the investigation of the case and the probe is still on.
Earlier on Tuesday, a threat mail was sent to the Reserve Bank in Mumbai about 11 bomb blasts in Mumbai on Tuesday. However, but no suspicious object was found at these locations, including the RBI central office building and two other banks.
