LONDON: Footage of vandals destroying posters of Israeli civilians abducted by Hamas has sparked outrage in Britain.

The incident occurred in Leicester Square on Wednesday night, when two women and a man forcibly removed posters. Apparently realizing he was being filmed, the man lowered his hat and quickly walked away.

The person behind the camera confronted the woman involved in removing the poster and asked her why she was removing “posters of people kidnapped by terrorists.”

The poster was first created by the Israeli Hostage and Missing Families Forum in response to the October 7 kidnappings and was distributed in various cities around the world to raise awareness of captured Israeli citizens. Ta.

The video, shared by Jewish News editor Richard Ferrer, sparked a wave of condemnation in Britain, with Jewish groups raising concerns about the lack of police intervention.

Police later announced that “no crime has been committed at this time.” However, officers promised to carry out “safety patrols” in the area.

The people involved in the incident have not yet been identified. Some British media have referred to them as “activists,” but their political affiliations remain unclear.

In another incident in the north of the capital, posters with photos of missing children were defaced with Adolf Hitler’s mustache and devil horns. On another poster, someone replaced “Hamas” with “real men.”

The incident drew condemnation from London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Mr Khan expressed dismay at the move, saying it was “increasing communal disharmony”.

The Israeli embassy in London also strongly condemned the incident, saying: “Defacing images of abducted Israeli children with Hitler’s mustache is deeply anti-Semitic and evokes chilling echoes of the Holocaust. ” he said.

The incidents are indicative of rising tensions in London, with the capital recording a sharp rise in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic crimes.

Jewish safety group Community Security Trust reports more than 330 hate crime incidents have occurred in London since Hamas militants launched deadly attacks on Israel on October 7. are doing.