Athens: Two Israelis stabbed after overheard speaking Hebrew

Two Israelis were stabbed last night (Friday) by two assailants after they were overheard speaking Hebrew, according to Ynet.

The two Israelis, who were in the city's Ermou district, were stabbed by two assailants after they were overheard speaking Hebrew and wearing stars of David. Neither required hospitalization for their injuries.

Israel’s embassy in Athens and the Foreign Ministry’s department for Israelis abroad are reportedly handling the case in coordination with Greek authorities.

According to the Foreign Ministry, one of the assailants hailed from Gaza and had taken part in pro-Palestinian attacks before the attack. He was arrested, while his assailants fled the scene.

Uzi, an Israeli who was in the area and sat with the couple at the restaurant, recounted what happened in a conversation with Mako News: "We left the restaurant after them, and it sounded like the couple was speaking Hebrew at a loud volume. Arabic speakers who were passing by in the area heard them and approached them. I heard them saying 'hey' to them, and then they began to attack them and stab them with a knife."

Uzi then continued: "One of the attackers was caught and two others managed to escape. We were there for another quarter of an hour, there was a big chaos, many police officers tried to catch the attackers who fled, but as I understand it, they haven't managed to catch them yet. The couple who was attacked was sent to a local hospital."

Uzi says that he couldn't sleep at night and had to take a pill to fall asleep. "I still haven't calmed down," he says. "My flight back to Israel is tomorrow morning, and I don't know if I'll go out to walk around the city today. It's absurd that things like this happen in Athens, it's supposed to be a safe city."

Uzi notes that during the night, the local consul called him and said that they are aware of the incident and are handling the matter. As of now, their main mission is to catch the attackers who escaped, who number two according to Mako and one according to Ynet.