Europe faces a ‘huge risk of terrorist attacks’ over Christmas, an EU official has warned.

European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said anger caused by the Israel-Hamas war made violence more likely. 

‘We saw (it happening) recently in Paris, unfortunately we have seen it earlier as well,’ she said, referring to the stabbing near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday that left one dead and two injured.

Johansson said the EU was making £26million available for additional security in vulnerable areas, notably places of worship.

She did not specify whether there was any information in particular that had resulted in the warning.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sent her condolences to France over the weekend attack and said it highlights ‘just how acute and how serious the threat posed by Islamist terrorism is currently in the EU’. 

‘The war in Gaza and Hamas’ terror are exacerbating this situation,’ she said.

Faeser said she had spoken with her counterparts from Austria, Belgium, France, Spain and Sweden about the risks.

‘Our security agencies are working very closely together. We must keep a particularly close eye on the Islamist threats right now and take action against Islamist propaganda together with neighbouring countries,’ she said.

Several European countries have seen a rise in hate crimes since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, leaving around 1,200 people dead and many others held hostage in Gaza. 

The fatal weekend attack in Paris left a German-Filipino tourist dead and two others, including a British man, injured. 

The savage attack took place near the Eiffel Tower shortly before 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT) on Saturday. A 26-year-old French man was later arrested.

French investigations into the attack were looking on Monday into the mental health of the suspected assailant, who swore allegiance to the Islamic State group before stabbing the man to death and injuring two other people with a hammer.

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