Israel, Jewish communities on heightened security alert following flydubai terror attack

The Jewish state and Jewish communities around the world are on heightened security alert following an attempted attack aboard a flydubai flight carrying mostly Israeli passengers.

The Omani co-pilot, Hamam al-Hammami, allegedly stabbed Indian Captain Smit Machchhar and later admitted during questioning that he attempted to crash the plane into Israeli territory, possibly targeting the Azrieli Towers in downtown Tel Aviv. The captain, several Israeli passengers and two off-duty pilots reportedly intervened, preventing the plane from crashing.

Investigators are seeking to determine whether al-Hammami acted alone or was directed by a terrorist organization or government. He had reportedly become radicalized during a period in Syria, his mother’s native country, where he was exposed to Islamist groups.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in a recent CNN interview that the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies “are planning attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians abroad.” Without elaborating, Netanyahu said he had instructed Israel’s security agencies “to prepare for additional potential threats.”

U.S. President Donald Trump also suggested that the Iranian regime could be linked to the flydubai incident. However, sources linked to the ongoing Emirati investigation said there is currently no evidence connecting Tehran to al-Hammami.

The attempted hijacking incident also led to the suspension of numerous flights to Israel, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded in Dubai. Netanyahu told international media that Israel was preparing “rescue flights” to bring stranded Israeli citizens home.

Israeli travelerDorin Turgeman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) about the difficulties of finding a flight back to Israel. She said that, amid the heightened security concerns, Israeli nationals at Dubai Airport had been moved to a separate secured area. “The situation is stressful,” Turgeman explained, adding that the uncertainty of coming home was “very frustrating.”

Ophir Shir, an Israeli citizen living in Dubai, told Israel’s public broadcaster Kan that the incident had “shaken the sense of security.” Shir said he had regularly flown with flydubai but would now think twice before using the airline in the near future.

“In the short term, I will definitely be afraid to take such a flight,” he said.

In a JTA interview on Friday, Netanyahu’s spokesman, Doron Spielman, said the prime minister’s warning applied to “intelligence about threats against Israelis and against Jews in Israel and around the world.” Spielman said Israel was “employing additional procedures” amid continued terror threats. He also said that “all of the Jewish communities around the world know that they’ve been on heightened alert since the seventh of October, but especially right now.”

Dubai has become a popular destination for Israelis since Israel and the UAE normalized diplomatic relations in 2020 under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. The city also serves as a major transit hub for travel to destinations across Asia.