Australian authorities say they’ve foiled a potential “mass casualty” attack with the discovery of a trailer packed with explosives in northwest Sydney, and “an indication” it was to be used against targets in the Jewish community following a spate of antisemitic incidents.

Three more incidents of antisemitic graffiti were found across Sydney on Thursday morning, leading Australian political leaders to warn of an escalation in hatred and decry as terrorism explosives found earlier in a trailer on the city’s outskirts.

The explosives located in a caravan could have caused a 'potential mass casualty event', authorities have said.

Sydney restaurateur Judith Lewis couldn’t save the mezuzah, a framed parchment inked with Hebrew prayers, that was hanging in her family’s café when arsonists set it alight in the early hours one Sunday in late October.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw said it was possible that cryptocurrencies - which can take longer to identify - had been used. He added that police were also investigating whether young people were carrying out these crimes and whether they had been radicalised online.

Australian detectives are investigating whether foreign actors are paying criminals to commit antisemitic attacks in the country, police said.

Australian police believe explosives found on Sydney’s outskirts were evidence of a deadly escalation in a campaign of antisemitic arson and graffiti crimes that has been waged in major cities for mon

Australian police say they suspect explosives stashed on Sydney’s outskirts were evidence of a deadly escalation in a campaign of antisemitic arson and graffiti crimes that has been waged in major cit

Australia has been grappling with a spate of antisemitic attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war in late 2023.