The police are seeking a man who was last seen holding hands with the 5-year-old girl on Saturday night near Alice Springs.

A Jewish security group told police an attack on the community was “likely” because of heightened antisemitism, days before December’s mass shooting in Sydney.

The suspect, charged with five counts of murder, is accused of killing or ordering the killings of unarmed civilians during the Afghan war.

Concern for the safety of the players had grown after Iranian state media criticized them for not singing the national anthem at a game in Australia.

The country and its small Jewish community are still trying to process the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in December.