The husband of a North London woman who cut off yellow ribbons for Jewish hostages held captive in Gaza says he and his wife have been attacked by a group of people ‘working for Mossad’.
Nadia Yahlom, 36, who is married to a Palestinian actor, was filmed using scissors to chop down the memorial bands which Jewish citizens had tied to railings in Muswell Hill, North London, on Monday in honour of those taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
When confronted by horrified bystanders, Ms Yahlom, who is a PhD student at the University of Westminster, declared that the bands were ‘condoning genocide’.
The Met police confirmed a woman has been interviewed in connection with the incident, which is being treated as racially-aggravated damage.
Ms Yahlom’s husband is Mo’min Swaitat, a Palestinian actor and director from the West Bank who moved to London in 2011.
After removing all his Instagram posts this week, he wrote on the social media platform that he and his wife had been attacked by a group he believed worked for Israel‘s national intelligence agency – Mossad.
‘If I’m not responding to emails or messages I just want to let you know that me and Nadia have been attacked by [an extremist group] probably working for the Israeli [Mossad] in our neighbourhood in North London’, he wrote, adding that the couple had been ‘attacked and stranded to be killed’.
‘This now has been investigated by the police’, he said.
Nadia Yahlom was filmed this week using scissors to chop down the yellow memorial bands which Jewish citizens had tied to railings in Muswell Hill, North London in honour of those taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023
When confronted by horrified bystanders, Ms Yahlom declared that the bands were ‘condoning genocide’
Her husband Mo’min Swaitat, a Palestinian actor, has claimed that he and his wife have been attacked by a group who ‘probably’ work for Mossad
Meanwhile, a woman who said she was Ms Yahlom’s mother told The Times that her daughter had been ‘pounded by death threats’ since the incident, including at her daughter’s school and at university.
Ms Yahlom was filmed on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, in which around 1,200 peiple were killed and 251 taken hostage.
Following the incident, a group of Muswell Hill residents gathered at the memorial to replace the ribbons cut down by Ms Yahlom.
Miranda Levy, who captured the original footage of the vandalism, said: ‘As a Jewish person I felt that pull to do something. It feels personal.’
‘These ribbons are to remember all the people who were kidnapped and those who are still there.
‘There is a climate that it’s acceptable, you can get away with it and even more than that, that people applaud it. People think [they] are on the side of the good, the side of the righteous by standing against Israel and the Jewish people.
‘Frankly what she was doing was anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-humanity.’
The incident came as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said this week that the UK will ‘always stand tall’ against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities, and urged students not to protest on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
The incident involving Ms Yahlom was came on the eve of the second anniversary of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, in which around 1,200 peiple were killed and 251 taken hostage
Muswell Hill residents gathered to replace the yellow ribbons cut down by Ms Yahlom today
The Ocotber 7 attacks prompted a deadly two-year war in Gaza.
Israel’s campaign in the Palestinian enclave has killed more than 67,000 people and wounded 170,000 others.
This week, Israel and Hamas agreed to the ‘first phase’ of US President Donald Trump’s plan to pause fighting and release all of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, a key step to ending the two-year war that has destabalised the Middle East.
A brief statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday the Cabinet approved the ‘outline’ of a deal to release the hostages, without mentioning other aspects of the plan that are more controversial.
The broader ceasefire plan includes many unanswered questions, such as whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza.
But the sides appeared closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory and left dozens of hostages, living and dead, in Gaza.
The Israeli military confirmed the start of the ceasefire Friday, and the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive, are to be released by Monday.
Palestinians said heavy shelling in parts of Gaza earlier on Friday had mostly stopped after the military’s announcement.
Netanyahu said in a televised statement Friday that the next stages would see Hamas disarm and Gaza demilitarised.
Palestinians, who were displaced to the southern part of Gaza at Israel’s order, make their way along a road as they return to the north, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, October 11, 2025
alestinians, including children, gathered in the city of Khan Yunis celebrate after the announcement of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza on October 09, 2025 in Khan Yunis, Gaza
People react as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025
ormer hostages Omer Shem Tov and Amit Soussana embrace as people celebrate at the “Hostages square”, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 9
‘If this is achieved the easy way — so be it. If not — it will be achieved the hard way,’ Netanyahu said.
The Israeli military has said it will continue to operate defensively from the roughly 50 percent of Gaza it still controls after pulling back to agreed-upon lines.
Meanwhile, the United Nations was given the green light by Israel to begin delivering scaled-up aid into Gaza starting Sunday, a U.N. official said.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.
The aid shipments are meant to address severe malnutrition and famine conditions triggered by Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian help.
The International Criminal Court is seeking the arrest of Netanyahu and his former defense minister for allegedly using starvation as a method of war. Israeli officials deny the accusations.