Israel urges citizens attending Olympics to be cautious, warning of terror threats
National Security Council notes French authorities have arrested ISIS sympathizers planning attacks, warns citizens to avoid anti-Israel protests

The National Security Council on Sunday told Israelis traveling to Paris for the Olympics to exercise increased caution, warning that it believes that global jihadist and Iran-backed terror organizations “are seeking to carry out attacks on Israeli/Jewish targets around the Olympics.”
The games officially begin on Friday — though the soccer competition kicks off tomorrow — and will wrap up on September 8 with the end of the Paralympic Games.
“International events such as this represent a preferred target for threats and attacks from various terror groups, because of the potential for the wide media impact,” the NSC said as it issued guidelines for travelers.
It pointed out that French authorities have arrested teen Islamic State sympathizers who planned on carrying out attacks during the Olympics.
The NSC warned travelers to avoid anti-Israel demonstrations as well.
It also stressed that Israel is not raising the warning level for France, which is classified as Level 2: Potential Threat. It recommends taking “increased precautionary measures” for such countries.

The NSC also urged Israelis at the Olympics to download the IDF Home Front Command app.
Israel’s athletes have faced a series of threats ahead of the Games, and there have already been attacks and foiled attacks on the proceedings in Paris. Israeli Olympic officials have said that the security budget for the Paris Games has been doubled compared to Tokyo.
Aside from security concerns, many of the athletes are also bracing themselves for an angry reception, including protests outside games, boos inside stadiums, opponents refusing to shake their hands, or other staged provocations, amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
French President Emmanuel Macron stressed Tuesday that Israeli athletes were “welcome” for the Paris Olympics, rejecting calls from some left-wing French MPs and the Palestinian Olympic Committee for a boycott.
“Israeli athletes are welcome in our country. They must be able to compete under their colors because the Olympic movement has decided it,” he told France 2 television in an interview, adding that it was “France’s responsibility to provide them with security.”
“I condemn in the strongest possible way all those who create risks for these athletes and implicitly threaten them,” he said.
Discussing the opening ceremony for the Olympics on Friday as helicopters could be heard in the background hovering over the capital, Macron said “we will all see on Friday night why it was worth the hassle.”
Much of central Paris is off-limits ahead of the open-air ceremony along the river Seine, with 45,000 members of the security forces set to be on duty as well as 10,000 soldiers in order to prevent any incident that would ruin the show.

“There is a security challenge and it’s true for all capitals which organize the Games,” Macron said. “It’s true for the opening ceremony. It will be true for the whole of the Games.”
“We need to come together as France that is welcoming the world,” added the centrist, who called snap elections in June that have led to political deadlock in parliament.
Meanwhile, Iran condemned the welcoming of Israeli athletes at the Olympic games in Paris, demanding their exclusion due to the ongoing war.
“Announcing the reception and protection of the apartheid terrorist Zionist regime’s delegation means giving legitimacy to the child killers,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.
“They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of Gaza,” it added, calling on organizers to ban Israel.
Amy Spiro contributed to this report.