NEW DELHI: An explosion near the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday did not kill or wound any staff members, authorities said, adding that investigations into its cause were ongoing.

There was no information suggesting anyone on the street had been hurt.

Israeli missions around the world have been on alert amid a rise in attacks since the start of Israeli attacks against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Teju Chitri, a security guard working at a nearby government languages training institute, told the Press Trust of India news agency that he heard the explosion, which took place in a tightly controlled neighbourhood home to government buildings and diplomatic missions.

“I heard a blast… I came outside and saw smoke coming out from near a tree,” Chitri said.

Officers cordoned off the embassy as they combed through the surrounding areas following the report of the late afternoon blast.

“We can confirm that around 5:20pm there was a blast at close proximity to the embassy,” Israeli Embassy spokesperson Guy Nir said, adding that local police and security teams were investigating.

Nothing had been found in the search operation three hours after the blast, an official involved in the investigation said.

“This evening… an explosion occurred in close proximity to the embassy,” Ohad Nakash Kaynar, Israel’s deputy head of mission in New Delhi said in a statement.

“All our workers are safe, all our diplomats are safe. Our security teams are working in full cooperation with the local Delhi security, and they will investigate the matter further.”

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2023