Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the U.N. General Assembly in 2012. (Credit: Mario Tama/Getty images via AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Thursday that he had ordered the strengthening of security measures in Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide, following the death of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, killed outside the Jewish museum.
"I have given the order to reinforce security arrangements in Israeli missions around the world and to increase the protection of state representatives," he said. "We are witnessing the terrible cost of anti-Semitism and the furious incitement [to violence] against the State of Israel," he added.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his own dismay. "This is a heinous act of hatred, of anti-Semitism, which took the lives of two young employees of the Israeli embassy," he added in a statement. "America and Israel will remain united in defending our people and shared values. Terrorism and hatred will not break us," he added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also expressed his horror at the terrorist attack. "We are in close contact with the American authorities. Israel will not give in to terrorism," he added on platform X.
Two employees of the Israeli embassy in the United States were killed outside the Jewish museum in Washington on Wednesday evening, according to U.S. authorities, who reported the arrest of the suspected shooter, who called to "free Palestine." The attack comes as the Israeli government faces increasing international criticism for its offensive in the Gaza Strip, triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israeli soil on Oct. 7, 2023.