By, Josh Jackman
3 min read
ByJosh Jackman, Josh Jackman
Terrorist attacks in Brussels by Daesh have left at least 31 people dead and 250 injured, with an Israeli listed as one of the wounded.
Zaventem airport and Maalbeek metro station - which is located near to the European Commission - were targeted in the attacks on the Belgian capital city this morning.
Daesh claimed responsibility through its affiliated Amaq news agency, in a statement explaining that "Islamic State fighters carried out a series of bombings with explosive belts and devices on Tuesday, targeting an airport and a central metro station in the center of the Belgian capital Brussels, a country participating in the international coalition against the Islamic State.
"Islamic State fighters opened fire inside Zaventem Airport, before several of them detonated their explosive belts, as a martyrdom bomber detonated his explosive belt in the Maalbeek metro station."
The British Foreign Office is reportedly set to change its travel advice about Brussels to warn people against all but essential travel to the city.
An Israeli national was lightly wounded by one of the two suicide bombings at the airport, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
Another Israeli, Yaakov Yeret, who volunteers for Hatzalah, the Israeli emergency service, was at the airport during the attacks. He told the Times of Israel: “At the time of the explosion I was praying at the synagogue in the airport. We felt the explosion.
“We exited the synagogue in order to see what was happening and we joined the stream of the multitude of people who were being ushered by the police to exit the terminal.
“For the moment we are being kept at the other end of the airport and we are awaiting further instructions from the security forces at the scene.”
There have been three explosions, all classed as terrorist attacks by Belgian authorities.
Residents were put in lockdown in the capital, as flights, public transport and Eurostar trains in and out of Belgium were halted. This afternoon, nine hours after the first attack, the lockdown was lifted.
The Israeli national football team and associated staff, who are in Croatia, are being kept inside their hotel and will only be taken out an hour before the match tomorrow evening.
On Friday, Salah Abdeslam, a main suspect in the Paris attacks in November, was captured during a raid on a flat in Brussels. Today's attacks are thought to be a reaction to his capture.
Mark Rowley, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing in Britain, said: “Our thoughts are with the people of Brussels following this morning’s horrific attacks.
“As a precaution forces across the UK have increased policing presence at key locations, including transport hubs, to protect the public and provide reassurance. This is not in relation to any specific information or intelligence."
Responding to the attacks, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said: “Once again, with inhuman brutality and disregard for the sanctity of life, terrorists have murdered and maimed innocent men and women in Europe.
"But, while they rejoice in the pain that that they have visited upon us, we will not be cowed. If anything, they have strengthened our commitment to the values of peaceful coexistence, democracy, the rule of law and human dignity.
"Our resolve cannot be broken by terror, whether it strikes in Israel, Turkey, Paris or Brussels.”
A Board of Deputies spokesman said: "These heinous attacks, which are sadly becoming disturbingly common on our continent, highlight the absolute necessity of robust international co-operation in the fight against trans-border terror.
"Great responsibility also lies with European societies to stand united in the face of a vicious and divisive ideology.
"We have also written to the Belgian Jewish community to express our solidarity. As the extent of the attacks become clearer, we will ensure that the Jewish community’s solidarity is communicated to the Belgian Embassy in London."
Conference of European Rabbis President Pinchas Goldschmidt said: “We are united in prayers at this hour with the family of the victims and the injured in Brussels.
"This latest act of war of Islamic fascism against the capital of Europe and against all the values and liberties it represents is another chapter of the struggle between the forces of light and of darkness in our time.
As in the biblical story of Esther, which will be read in all the synagogues later this week, evil can and will be destroyed only by recognising it, and fighting it.
"A united Europe has to gather its strengths in unity and in determination to face and fight this evil on all fronts, in the media, on the borders, in the mosques and in the markets.”
