Explosion rocks historic Belgian synagogue as police rush to scene after 'violent act of antisemitism'

No injuries have been reported, a spokesman for the police in the city of Liège has said.

The windows of the buildings across the road were also blown out during the incident.

A security perimeter has been erected by authorities, with counter-terrorism police now investigating the incident.

It is not yet known what caused the explosion.

However, Liège Mayor Willy Demeyer strongly condemned the incident by labelling the blast a "violent act of antisemitism", speaking on local radio.

He said: "From the information communicated to me, there is little doubt... the investigation will have to determine this.

"It is unacceptable that we import conflicts from outside into our city."

Mr Demeyer is in contact with Belgium's Minister of the Interior regarding the next steps in the investigation.

The president of the Committee of Jewish Organizations of Belgium (CCOJB), Yves Oschinsky, speaking to the Belga news agency on Monday morning, said the incident is an "extremely worrying, serious and concerning anti-Semitic act".

The synagogue serves as a museum for the history of the city's Jewish community.

Liège is located near the German border, in east Belgium.

This comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across the UK following last year's deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester.

According to Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-Jewish hatred and provides protection for Jewish institutions, 40 incidents were recorded on the day of the attack, October 2, and a further 40 the following day - the highest daily totals of 2025.

The violence occurred when Jihad Al-Shamie drove into the gates of the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester before launching a knife attack while wearing what police later confirmed was a fake suicide belt.

Worshippers Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby were killed in the assault, which police said was the first fatal antisemitic terror attack in Britain since CST began recording incidents in 1984.

The organisation said more than half of the incidents logged in the days immediately after the attack were direct reactions to it, including people celebrating the killings, the BBC reports.

Overall, CST recorded 3,700 anti-Jewish hate incidents in the UK in 2025, marking a four per cent increase compared with the previous year.

Last year also saw a record number of cases involving damage or desecration of Jewish property, including homes, vehicles and synagogues.

There were 217 such incidents recorded in 2025 - a 38 per cent rise on the 157 cases documented in 2024.

Similarly, European countries are also experiencing a rise in antisemitism.

CST chief executive Mark Gardner said the Manchester attack in Manchester was the culmination of “two years of intense anti-Jewish hatred” and warned the violence had triggered further antisemitic behaviour.

National policing lead for hate crime Mark Hobrough said the levels recorded last year were “unacceptably high”, adding that tensions in society appeared deeper and more entrenched than in previous years.