A police officer guarding Israel’s embassy in Belgrade shot and killed a knife-wielding attacker just after midnight on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in what Serbian authorities called a terrorist attack. After the Belgrade Israeli embassy attack, Serbia raised its terrorism threat level to red, the highest level, and increased police at key sites across the country.
The attack happened at about 12:15 a.m. local time, or 7:15 p.m. Tuesday Eastern. Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, who is serving in a caretaker capacity, said the attacker was a minor whose identity had not yet been established but who was believed to be from Šabac, a city in western Serbia, according to a Serbian government statement.
How the Belgrade Israeli embassy attack unfolded
Dačić said the attacker rushed at an officer of the Gendarmerie, an elite police unit, with two knives while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Serbia’s Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade gave a more detailed account. It said a person dressed in black opened the door of the guard booth in front of the embassy and moved toward the officer, identified only by the initials D.S., with two knives. The attacker threw one knife, cutting the officer’s left cheek, and D.S. then drew his service weapon and fired several shots, killing the attacker at the scene, the office said in a statement reported by Reuters.
Prosecutors said their on-site assessment found that the officer acted lawfully in self-defense, and that the investigation into the full sequence of events was continuing. Dačić said he visited the wounded officer, who was reported to be doing well and did not need hospital treatment, according to the BBC.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on social media that no embassy staff were hurt and that the mission was closed at the time, the BBC reported. Armed security personnel were posted outside the embassy on Wednesday morning.
Suspect was monitored as an Islamic State supporter
Dačić said Serbian security services had been monitoring the attacker, who was known to be a supporter of the Islamic State and had displayed the group’s black flag and emblem on his Instagram profile, according to the government statement. The BBC reported that he was a Serbian citizen. Officials did not say on Wednesday how long he had been under watch, whether he acted alone or what led to the attack.
Authorities did not release the attacker’s name. Under the red alert, police will step up checks and patrols at infrastructure facilities and places where large crowds gather, Dačić said.
Second attack at the same embassy since 2024
This is the second attack on a police officer guarding Israel’s embassy in Belgrade in less than three years. In June 2024, a man shot a Gendarmerie officer in the neck with a crossbow. The officer survived and shot the assailant dead; the attacker was identified as a Serbian man who had converted to Islam, the BBC reported. Prosecutors treated that assault as a terrorist act, and Dačić, then also interior minister, declared a red threat level afterward.
Wednesday’s attack came one day after Israelis voted in a national election, with partial results showing neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot reaching a majority. Our earlier report covered record turnout in the Israel election.
Serbia’s caretaker government and security posture
The attack also lands during a political transition in Serbia. Dačić leads the Interior Ministry in a caretaker role after the country’s Oct. 25 parliamentary election, in which the student-led Student List won a majority and President Aleksandar Vučić conceded defeat, as we reported in our coverage of the Serbia election results. The incoming government will inherit the investigation and the decision on how long the red alert stays in place.
Serbian officials did not say whether they had received any specific warning before Wednesday’s incident, or whether security at other diplomatic missions in Belgrade would change beyond the nationwide red alert.
The prosecutor’s office said it would continue to reconstruct the events and determine the attacker’s identity. The Boston Report will update this story on the Belgrade Israeli embassy attack as Serbian authorities release more information.
Sources
- Government of Serbia: Terrorist attack outside Israeli Embassy in Belgrade
- BBC News: Serbian shot dead after attacking officer outside Israeli embassy
- Reuters via Al-Monitor: Policeman kills knife attacker outside Israeli embassy in Serbia
- Euronews: Student List wins Serbian election as Vučić concedes defeat
- AP: Serbian police say assailant killed after attack outside the Israeli Embassy
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