Pro-Palestinian Mob Attacks Israeli Tourists at Crete Hotel, Forcing Early Evacuation

In the early hours of Saturday morning near Malia, a popular youth vacation town on the Greek island of Crete, dozens of Israeli teenagers were trapped in their hotel rooms after a group of pro-Palestinian assailants armed with knives and glass bottles sought to attack them. Sivan, a mother of two boys vacationing there with friends, recounted how her eldest son called her at 4:40 a.m. screaming, "Mom, they are killing us." The youths were chased by what she described as dozens, possibly hundreds, of rioters who threw glass bottles and banged on doors as they searched room to room.

The attackers reportedly broke into the hotel and attempted to find Israeli guests, but the teenagers managed to hide and avoid capture. One of Sivan's son's friends was so terrified he sent a farewell message to his mother. Greek police were contacted but took a long time to control the situation. Sivan and her husband, who were in Mykonos at the time, immediately booked flights to bring their children home. The youths, some 30 Israeli teens in total, had come to enjoy summer parties before their military service but ended up fleeing amid chants of "El El Israel," which seemed to provoke the violence.

One younger boy narrowly escaped serious injury from a broken bottle, and the group banded together to protect each other during the ordeal. The incident cut short their vacation, and they returned to Israel within hours of the attack. Sivan expressed sadness over the traumatic experience faced by her children and their friends, who had just completed their high school matriculation exams under challenging circumstances.