An Israeli tourist in her 80s was violently attacked during the night in the hotel room where she was staying in Paris.
According to a report in France, a man who was intoxicated entered her room in the early morning hours and struck her in the face while she was lying in bed.
The incident occurred at around 3:00 a.m. According to the report, the attacker entered the room of the woman, who was vacationing in Paris with family members, and began violently beating her without warning.
The Israeli woman’s screams were heard in the hallway and woke her family members, who were staying in nearby rooms. They rushed to her room, subdued the suspect and stopped the attack. Police officers called to the hotel arrested him.
The Israeli woman was taken to a Paris hospital suffering from severe injuries. Medical examinations revealed multiple fractures to the bones of her face, requiring surgical treatment. Her family members are trying to bring her back to Israel, where she is expected to undergo surgery and continue receiving medical care.
Following the woman’s identification as an Israeli, the possibility that the attack was antisemitically motivated was also examined. However, according to the French-Jewish website IsraJ, investigations conducted with the assistance of Israeli consular officials in Paris found that, at this stage, there is no suspicion of an antisemitic motive.
According to the report, the suspect was drunk at the time of the incident and was unaware that the woman he attacked was Israeli. The Foreign Ministry in Israel has announced that, based on the information currently available, there is no indication of antisemitism at this stage.
The circumstances of the incident remain under investigation. Among the questions being examined is how a stranger managed to enter the elderly woman’s hotel room in the middle of the night without being stopped beforehand.