All flights to and from Makhachkala airport in the Russian region were suspended after groups of protesters stormed the facility.
Hundreds of people stormed the main airport in Russia’s Dagestan region, ostensibly to protest the arrival of a plane from Israel amid the Gaza war.
On Sunday, crowds broke through security checkpoints, some making it to the runway at Makhachkala airport, where they were removed by security forces.
“More than 150 active participants in the riots have been identified, 60 of them have been arrested,” the Russian Interior Ministry said in a statement. Nine police officers were injured in clashes with the crowd, including two who were treated at a hospital.
According to local news, the plane in question belonged to the Russian airline Red Wings.
Social media footage showed frightened passengers rushing to reboard the plane amid the commotion on the runway at Makhachkala airport.
Videos also showed the protesting crowd breaking glass doors and running through the airport, with some shouting anti-Jewish slogans. At the landing site, some were seen waving Palestinian flags and others checking the passports of arriving passengers.
Several local Telegram channels also showed photos and videos of dozens of people waiting outside the airport and appearing to flag down cars. Another group was seen attempting to overturn a patrol car. In the videos, a protester could be seen holding a sign that read, “Child murderers have no place in Dagestan.”
The incident comes as Israel expands its ground operations in the Gaza Strip, even as heavy airstrikes continue. Officials in Gaza say more than 8,000 Palestinians, including 3,324 children, have been killed since the war began on October 7 when Hamas, the group that runs the besieged enclave, launched a surprise attack inside Israel. Israeli officials said at least 1,400 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the Hamas attack.
In a statement released Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel “expects Russian law enforcement agencies to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they are and to act resolutely against the rioters and the “wild agitation” directed against Jews and Israelis”.
Earlier on Sunday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported that a Jewish center in the town of Nalchik in the nearby Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria was set on fire.
Several Israeli media outlets reported, citing Israeli security officials, that the Israeli passengers were isolated and guarded at Makhachkala airport following the incident in Dagestan. According to reports, the plan was to fly them directly to Moscow.
Calls for calm
Russia’s civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia reported late Sunday that the airfield had been cleared of unauthorized persons but that the airport would remain temporarily closed to incoming aircraft until November 6.
While expressing support for Gaza, the regional government in Muslim-majority Dagestan appealed to citizens to remain calm and not take part in such protests.
The government warned protesters via Telegram not to “continue illegal actions and not to interfere in the work of airport employees.”
The statement continued: “It is not easy for any of us to witness the inhumane massacre of a civilian population – the Palestinian people. At the same time, we call on the residents of the republic not to give in to the provocations of destructive groups and not to create panic in society.”
The Supreme Mufti of Dagestan, Sheikh Achmad Afandi, also called on residents to end the unrest at the airport.
“You are wrong. This problem cannot be solved this way. We understand and feel your indignation very painfully. We will solve this problem differently. Not with rallies, but appropriately. Maximum patience and calm for you,” he said in a video published on Telegram.
Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, condemned the incident and said the United States “clearly stands with the entire Jewish community as we witness a global rise in anti-Semitism.”