You're reading: Israel: Egypt embassy attack is ‘blow’ to ties

JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official on Saturday denounced an overnight attack on his country's embassy in Egypt as a "grave violation" of diplomatic norms and a "blow to peaceful relations" between the two countries.

Egypt put its police force on a state of alert after the overnight violence during which angry protesters broke into the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, tearing down a cement barrier around the building and trapping six staff members inside.

The rampage further worsened already deteriorating ties between Israel and post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt.

The Israeli ambassador, his family and most of the staff and their dependents — some 80 people — were evacuated out of the country by military aircraft overnight, the Israeli official said.

Only the deputy ambassador was still in Egypt, added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

"That the government of Egypt ultimately acted to rescue our people is noteworthy and we are thankful," the official said. "But what happened is a blow to the peaceful relations, and of course, a grave violation of accepted diplomatic behavior between sovereign states."

Outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo’s neighborhood of Giza, thousands of protesters battled the riot police into the morning hours, hurling stones at the troops as they fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Several cars, police vehicles and trees on the streets were set ablaze. The violence subsided by 6 am.

The state MENA news agency said 448 people were injured in the overnight clashes, including 46 policemen while 17 protesters were arrested.

The Israeli official said that during the rioting, six Israelis were trapped for 13 hours inside the embassy but that Egyptian commandos later stormed the building and rescued them.