• Tuesday, 03 December 2024

Israel's Katz warns of attacks on Israeli Olympic athletes

Israel's Katz warns of attacks on Israeli Olympic athletes

Tel Aviv, 25 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - On the eve of the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday warned of possible attacks from Iran-allied groups on his country's athletes.

"We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organizations who aim to carry out attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics,” Katz wrote in a letter to his French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné, as quoted by the Times of Israel.

Possible terrorist attacks could be directed against members of the Israeli Olympic delegation and Israeli visitors to the Games, Katz said. He was not more specific in the parts of the letter that became public.

Groups with a terrorist background that are allied with Iran include the Palestinian Islamist Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Katz thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for the unprecedented security precautions that the host country has taken for the Israeli Olympic participants.

Israel's delegation will be under special protection at the Games in France. Their teams and individual athletes will be accompanied around the clock by the French police.

Photo: EPA