AUSTRALIAN police suspect that explosives found stashed on Sydney’s outskirts are evidence of a deadly escalation in a months-long campaign of anti-semitic arson and graffiti attacks in major cities, officials said today.

Police found a list of Jewish targets and a cache of Powergel, an explosive used in the mining industry, in a trailer in the outer suburb of Dural on January 19, New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner David Hudson said.

He said there were enough explosives to make a bomb with a blast of 130 feet.

“This is certainly an escalation,” he told reporters, referring to a recent series of anti-semitic crimes in Sydney, where businesses and cars have been torched and buildings graffitied.

Mr Hudson declined to identify the potential Jewish targets.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to nominate the targets. I can indicate that the Jewish community will be made aware,” he said.

Several suspects not directly related to the explosives have been arrested , Mr Hudson added.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, arson and graffiti attacks have soared in Sydney and Melbourne, which are home to 85 per cent of Australia’s Jewish population.

A worshipper who suffered burn injuries in a fire that was started at a Melbourne synagogue last December is the only human casualty. That arson attack is being investigated by a joint counterterrorism team involving federal and state law enforcement authorities.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said counterterrorism authorities were also investigating the discovery find.

“This is the discovery of a potential mass casualty event. There’s only one way of calling it out and that is terrorism. That’s what we’re very worried about,” Mr Minns said.

“This would strike terror into the community, particularly the Jewish community, and it must be met with the full resources of the government.”