Pro-Hamas Mob Tries to Breach Hotel in Greece, Police Protect Israeli Tourists Forced to Hide: Reports

A mob of pro-Hamas demonstrators attempted to break into a hotel where Israeli tourists were staying in Athens, according to media reports and videos circulating on social media.

The anti-Israel protests against the war in Gaza escalated into riots, with some demonstrators attempting to breach the hotel premises.

Greek police were reportedly dispatched to the scene at Omonia Square, where they deployed gas grenades to disperse the crowd and restore order.

Breaking News: There is an incident of rioters trying to break into a hotel in Athens, Greece where a group of Israelis are staying. The local police forces are trying to take over. @GreeceMFA @Athens #rioters #Israelis @antisemitism #jewhatred @AntiIsraelHate pic.twitter.com/6EaQUhSLju

— The Jewish Voice (@TJVNEWS) May 7, 2024

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there were no known Israeli casualties, i24 News reported.

The incident came after police had to use flash-bang grenades and other anti-riot tactics to prevent anti-Israel protesters from trying to breach the walls of the Egyptian embassy, according to the Foreign Desk news site.

Clashes had broken out between police and pro-Hamas demonstrators in Athens, the Greek capital, earlier on Tuesday, one day after Israel launched a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the Hamas terror group’s last stronghold in the Palestinian enclave.

More than 300 people rallied outside the parliament building in Athens, carrying Palestinian flags and banners reading “Hands off Rafah!”

The ongoing war began when Hamas invaded southern Israel from neighboring Gaza on Oct. 7, murdering 1,200 people and abducting 252 others as hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and incapacitating Hamas to the point that the Palestinian terror group can longer pose a major threat to the Israeli people from Gaza.

Following Oct. 7, anti-Israel, pro-Hamas demonstrations have erupted around the world, especially in the US and Europe, coinciding with a global surge in antisemitic incidents over the same time period.

The latest incident in Greece was reminiscent of a similar episode in Dagestan, a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus, in the weeks following Oct. 7. Large crowds in the city of Hasbiurt besieged a hotel where they claimed Israelis were staying.

The mob then raided the hotel and searched for Jews, according to reports. The group dispersed when none were found.