CNN
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Israeli soccer fans were beaten and injured in violent clashes in Amsterdam overnight, which the Dutch government condemned on Friday as “anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens”.

Dutch police said they had launched a major investigation into several violent incidents following Thursday night’s Europa League soccer match between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dutch side Ajax. Police said that so far, “five people have been taken to hospital and 62 people have been arrested”.

Hundreds of Maccabi fans “were ambushed and attacked in Amsterdam,” Israel’s embassy in the United States said on social media platform X. At least 10 Israeli citizens were injured, according to Israel’s foreign ministry.

Social media video shared by Israel’s embassy showed what it said was violence against Maccabi fans. One video shows a man being kicked as he lies on the ground, while another video shows a man being kicked by a man shouting “Free Palestine” and “for the children, you bastard”. CNN has not yet been able to verify these videos.

Tensions had risen ahead of Thursday night’s game, with several videos on social media showing Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slurs, praising Israeli military strikes in Gaza and shouting “to hell with the Arabs”. It is unclear when those videos were shot.

Amsterdam police said they had increased their presence in the city center on Wednesday night, citing “tensions” in several areas, a day before the match.

Officers “prevented a confrontation between a group of taxi drivers and a group of visitors coming from the adjacent casino” on Wednesday night, police said in a statement to X, citing another incident in which a Palestinian flag was torn down in the center of Amsterdam. by unknown authors.

On Thursday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to reach the Johan Cruyff stadium, even though the city banned them from protesting there, Reuters reported.

Police said fans left the stadium without incident after Ajax won the game 5-0, but clashes were reported in the city center overnight.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof told X that he was in touch with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he was “appalled by anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli citizens.”

“This is completely unacceptable. I am in close contact with all parties involved and have just spoken to (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu on the phone to stress that those responsible will be identified and prosecuted,” he said, adding that “the situation in Amsterdam is now calm again “.

Netanyahu stressed in a call with Schoof the “ultimate importance” of the Dutch government to ensure the safety of all Israelis in the Netherlands, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said.

“Netanyahu stated that he takes seriously the planned anti-Semitic attack against Israeli citizens,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, adding that he called for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar advised Israelis in Amsterdam to stay in their hotels.

He is traveling to the Netherlands in the wake of the attacks, which he condemned as “barbaric and anti-Semitic” and called “a shrill wake-up call for Europe and the world”.

Sa’ar also asked his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, ​​to help take the Israelis from their hotels to the airport, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

In a statement from his office, Netanyahu called on Dutch authorities to “act firmly and swiftly against the rioters and ensure the peace of our citizens.” He initially said he was ordering “rescue planes” to help Israeli citizens, but the Israeli prime minister’s office later said he would focus on commercial flight solutions to return citizens safely.

This is a developing story and will be updated.