Everything we know so far

Kensington Gardens will be closed for the rest of the day due to a police investigation into a possible attack on the Israeli embassy.

People were evacuated from the park on Friday morning after police were made aware of a “number of discarded items”, as police look into potential links to a video saying an attack on the embassy was planned.

The whole of Kensington Gardens park is cordoned off while the items and authenticity of the footage are investigated.

Here is everything else we know about the investigation so far.

Where is the incident, and who is on the scene?

Kensington Gardens, once part of the private gardens of Kensington Palace , is now one of London’s Royal Parks.

Several tactical command police vans are currently blocking an area south of the Round Pond, an ornamental lake to the east of Kensington Palace within the gardens.

A fire investigation unit from the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and the London Ambulance Service’s hazardous area response team are also present at the scene, as are LFB’s fire investigation dogs.

A Metropolitan Police chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear team was seen near the bandstand, around 500m away from the Israeli embassy, while divers from the Met’s underwater and confined space search team are also in attendance.

One eyewitness was asked to leave the park after entering at around 9.45am from Kensington High Street.

The entire park has been cordoned off since Friday morning, with an increased police presence around the park as officers assess the discarded items.

Police have confirmed they are investigating whether items found nearby are linked to a video claiming the Israeli embassy was going to be targeted by drones carrying dangerous substances.

The Metropolitan Police said that while the embassy had not been attacked, officers were investigating the source and authenticity of the footage.

The force have urged people to avoid the area while investigations are carried out.

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“We're carrying out urgent inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens."
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “We recognise this may concern local residents and the wider public.

”We do not believe there to be any increased public safety risk at this stage, but we would urge people to avoid the area while officers carry out their work.”
What have the Israeli embassy and the Royal Parks said?

The Israeli embassy confirmed in a statement that the site was not attacked and staff were safe.

A spokesperson said: "A suspected security incident is being investigated in the park adjacent to the Embassy of Israel in London.

"We wish to clarify that all Embassy staff are safe and that the Embassy was not attacked.

"As always we remain in close and continuous contact with the local authorities."”
A Royal Parks spokesperson said: “Due to an ongoing police investigation, Kensington Gardens will be closed to the public today.

We respectfully ask that people avoid the area until further notice.”
Who has claimed responsibility, and is it related to any other incidents?

An Iran -linked Islamist group seems to have posted a video claiming that the embassy was going to be attacked.

The same group has also claimed responsibility for three arson attacks in north London in videos posted on Telegram on Wednesday, according to terror group monitor Site Intelligence.

A teenage boy and two men were arrested after the latest attack at the offices of a Persian media organisation in Wembley.

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has also claimed other attacks across Europe since the war in Iran broke out.

However, police are not linking the attack to the attempted arson at a synagogue in Finchley earlier this week, or the attack on Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green in March.

Julian Lanches, from the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, told the Financial Times the group was “unusual”, with analysis showing that the group had “no known references, neither online nor offline” before March 9.

Mr Lanches said that their sudden appearance meant “there are considerable doubts that they are a genuine, serious terror group with offline or internal structures”.