Israeli embassies and diplomats worldwide have been targeted by terrorists about 30 times since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday.
“Since the start of ‘Operation Roaring Lion’, we have been confronting this troubling wave with greater intensity,” Sa’ar told ministry staff at a ceremony honoring diplomats who were killed in the line of duty, referring to the joint Israeli-U.S. military operation against the Islamic Republic that began on Feb. 28.
The ceremony was held ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Hostile Acts, which starts on Monday night.
“The Iranian terror regime has tried and continues to try to harm Israel, as well as its representatives around the world. It spreads chaos and terrorism across the globe,” said Sa’ar.
He noted two attempts to harm Israeli embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates in recent months, including one with an explosive drone.
“Israel is not only the most militarily attacked country, it is also the most politically attacked country. Modern antisemitism is carried by venomous, toxic incitement directed against Israel—the state of the Jewish people,” said Sa’ar. “Our diplomats stand on the front line of this: The diplomatic front.”
On March 1, debris from a downed Iranian drone hit the Etihad Towers complex in Abu Dhabi, which houses the Israeli embassy and several other diplomatic missions, injuring a woman and her child.
In the aftermath of the attack, and following indications of two concrete Iranian attempts to target Israeli diplomats in the UAE, Jerusalem evacuated non-essential embassy personnel from Abu Dhabi.
