According to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, between July 2025 and July 2026, 45 reports were received regarding Israelis who were victims of anti-Semitic acts abroad and required assistance from the Department for Assistance to Israelis in Distress. Among the reported cases were assaults, fights, spitting, insults, denial of service, expulsions from hotels, cafes, and restaurants, and threats.

A group of young Israelis staying at a hotel in Malia, on the island of Crete, in Grece, reported that a large group of anti-Israel individuals entered the hotel overnight looking for Israelis floor by floor.

According to the Israelis’ accounts, some of the individuals were armed with axes and firearms and went floor by floor searching for Israeli guests. The tourists said they barricaded themselves inside their rooms while waiting for police to arrive.

The terrified tourists called their families who then asked the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy in Greece to alert the authorities who removed the intruders.

One woman whose son called her from his hotel room described the scene.

“My son told me that a lot of Palestinians came into the hotel with rifles and axes,” she said. “They went up to the floors where the Israelis were staying and started going room to room.”

Afraid he would die, he sent her a farewell message.

“At that point, he sent me a goodbye message,” she said. “He wrote that he was scared and that many Arabs had come because they knew there were a lot of Jews there.”

Relatives of the tourists contacted the Israeli foreign ministry and the Israeli embassy in Athens which coordinated with local authorities to storm the hotel and remove the intruders. The authorities advised the tourists to remain in their rooms until the situation was under control.

The incident in Crete comes amid a surge in acts of hostility and antisemitism toward Israelis abroad. According to data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, between July 2025 and July 2026, 45 reports were received regarding Israelis who were victims of anti-Semitic acts abroad and required assistance from the Department for Assistance to Israelis in Distress. Among the reported cases were assaults, fights, spitting, insults, denial of service, expulsions from hotels, cafes, and restaurants, and threats.