BNEI BRAK, Israel — Police escorted several female military personnel to safety Sunday after a confrontation with a crowd in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, officials said.

The soldiers were in the city as part of routine service-related activity when tensions escalated and a group of bystanders began shouting at them and moving toward them in a threatening manner, according to authorities. Officers were called to the scene and removed the soldiers without reported injuries.

During the disturbance, a police motorcycle was set ablaze and a police vehicle was overturned, police said. Some individuals allegedly threw objects and trash bins into the roadway as security forces worked to disperse the crowd. An investigation is ongoing.

Police Commissioner Danny Levy said authorities would pursue suspects involved in what he described as serious disorder and damage to police property.

Political leaders across the spectrum also denounced the unrest, including Benny Gantz and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who called for firm enforcement of the law.

More images from the developing situation in the Haredi neighbourhood of Bnai Brak. pic.twitter.com/BG0CwAZqtU

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) February 15, 2026

The military said its chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, strongly condemned the attack and expects legal action against those involved.

Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef also sharply criticized those who participated in the disturbance, calling for them to be expelled from the Haredi community.

In a statement, Yosef said the rioters had desecrated the name of Heaven and that their conduct did not reflect Torah values. “The ways of the Torah of Israel are ways of pleasantness and all its paths are peace; there is no place for such behavior among us,” he said, urging that those involved be denounced and cast out from the community.

Yosef, the son of the late Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef, remains an influential figure within the party and the broader ultra-Orthodox community.