Israeli PM directs two rescue planes to Amsterdam

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed two rescue planes to Amsterdam after being informed of "a very violent incident" targeting Israeli citizens, his office said on Friday.

Israel's national security ministry has also urged its citizens in Amsterdam to stay in their hotel rooms following the attacks, the prime minister's office said in a second statement.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said 10 citizens were injured and 57 people were arrested.

"Fans who went to see a football game, encountered anti-Semitism and were attacked with unimaginable cruelty just because of their Jewishness and Israeliness," Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a post on X.

Initial reports indicated it was an incident between several Israeli fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football team ahead of the team’s Europa League match against Ajax.

They reportedly marched through Amsterdam, stealing Palestinian flags and setting one on fire, and attacked a taxi driver and damaged his car.

“They began attacking houses of people in Amsterdam with Palestinian flags, so that’s actually where the violence started,” Councilman Jazie Veldhuyzen told Al Jazeera. “As a reaction, Amsterdammers mobilized themselves and countered the attacks that started on Wednesday by the Maccabi hooligans.”

Ajax fans, and other taxi drivers confronted them, chasing them through the city until they sought refuge and were escorted away by police.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has asked the Dutch government to help Israeli citizens arrive safely at the airport, Saar told his Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp in a phone call on Friday.