Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes in London have soared amid the Israel-Hamas war, the British capital's Metropolitan Police force said Friday, according to a report in the AFP news agency. The Met, the UK's biggest police force, said there had been 218 antisemitic offences in London between October 1 and 18, compared to 15 in the same period last year. The force added that Islamophobic crimes had increased from 42 to 101 during the same period. Police boosted patrols across parts of London and deployed officers to religious schools and places of worship following Hamas' October 7 attack against Israel. "Regrettably, despite the increased presence of officers we have seen a significant increase in hate crime across London," the Met said, as quoted by AFP , adding it had made 21 arrests for such offences. The arrests included a man detained on suspicion of defacing posters of missing Israelis. Another man is accused over ten incidents of Islamophobic graffiti on bus stops. The Community Security Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism, said last week it had seen a 324% increase in reports of antisemitism since the Hamas attack. In one incident, pro-Palestinian Arab activists vandalized a kosher restaurant in London. The British government last week announced £3 million of extra funding to help protect the Jewish community from antisemitic attacks. Tens of thousands of people rallied last weekend in London and other UK in support of Palestinian Arabs. In one of those protests, former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Israel of committing “war crimes” in the Gaza Strip. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Israel this past week in a show of solidarity with the Jewish state. Related articles: Activist: London anti-Lieberman Protest Boomerangs on the Left Journalist Assaulted in UK for Filming Anti-Israel Event US Congressmen Call for Moment of Silence at Olympic Games Livingstone Wants To Nationalize Mayoralty Race; Boris Is Local During the visit, Sunak met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stressed the British government’s support for Israel. "We absolutely support Israel's right to defend itself, to go after Hamas, and to return its hostages," he said. "In direct contrast to Hamas, Israel is doing everything possible to avoid harming civilians. We thank you for that, and are increasing our aid to the region," Sunak added, noting that "the Palestinian people are also victims of Hamas."