US and Israel’s embassies in Argentina evacuated after bomb threat

 

Thursday, October 19, 2023 – The embassies of Israel and the United States in Argentina were the targets of bomb threats on Wednesday, October 18.

The Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, near the presidency, was evacuated amid heavy police presence, AFP reporters witnessed.

Police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the embassy had received a threat via email to its diplomatic office.

A threat was also received by the US embassy in the upscale Palermo suburb, where an AFP reporter saw employees gathered outside until police allowed them to return.

Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America, with more than 250,000 Jews living there.

The Jewish community there has suffered attacks such as the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center that killed 85 people and left 300 injured.

That attack came just two years after the Israeli embassy was bombed, killing 29 and wounding 200.

Argentina is evacuating some 1,500 of its citizens from Israel, after a bloody attack by Hamas militants on October 7 left about 1,400 people dead, mostly civilians.

In retaliation, Israel has launched an offensive in Gaza that the Hamas-led health ministry says has claimed the lives of 3,478 people, also mostly civilians.