Worker at Israel’s Embassy in Beijing was attacked in unclear circumstances and is now hospitalized

An employee of the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was attacked on Friday and later hospitalized, the country’s Foreign Ministry said. China did not immediately acknowledge the assault.

It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the attack, though it comes after Israel had criticized China for its statement that followed Hamas’ unprecedented attack last Saturday that sparked the ongoing war between the militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Israel.

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement to journalists, saying the attack did not happen on the embassy’s grounds.

“The employee was transferred to hospital and he is in a stable condition,” the statement said, without giving additional details. It added that Israeli officials were still trying to assess the “background” of what happened in the assault.