Religious hate crimes in England and Wales have soared by 25% to record levels, coinciding with the Israel-Hamas conflict, government statistics show.

The increase, from 8,370 to 10,484 offences reported to police forces in the year to March, was driven by a rise in offences against Jewish people and to a lesser extent Muslims, the Home Office said. The overall number of hate crimes dropped.

According to the statistical bulletin, the total of 10,484 anti-religious offences was the highest annual tally of these offences since hate crime records began in the year ending March 2012.

The report said: “The increase in offences was driven by a sharp rise in religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Since the spike, the number of offences has declined but to a level higher than seen before the conflict.

“Annually, there were 3,282 religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people in the year ending March 2024, more than double the number recorded the previous year. These offences accounted for a third (33%) of all religious hate crimes in the last year. By comparison, the proportion in the previous year was 20%.”

It said there had also been an increase in religious hate crimes against Muslims, up 13% to 3,866 reported offences. Almost two in five religious hate crimes (38%) were targeted against Muslims, the report said.

There were 702 reported hate crimes against Christians, 193 against Hindus and 216 against Sikhs – 7%, 2% and 2% respectively as a proportion of religious hate crimes over the year.

Overall there were 140,561 reported hate crimes, a decrease of 5% from the previous year, the second consecutive annual fall. Reported hate incidents on the grounds of race, sexual orientation, disability and against transgender people fell.

From January to June 2024, the Community Security Trust (CST) charity recorded 1,978 reports of anti-Jewish hate incidents, up from 964 in the first half of 2023.

Of these, 1,037 were in Greater London, including 411 in Barnet, the local authority area that is home to the biggest Jewish community in the UK. The region with the next highest number of recorded antisemitic incidents was Greater Manchester with 268, followed by West Yorkshire with 115.

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “The appalling levels of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes outlined in today’s figures are a stain on our society, and this government will work tirelessly to tackle this toxic hatred wherever it is found. We must not allow events unfolding in the Middle East to play out in increased hatred and tension here on our streets, and those who push this poison – offline or online – must face the full force of the law.

“The more than doubling of reported antisemitic hate crime and the significant increase in Islamophobic hate crime are very serious. We must have zero tolerance for antisemitism, Islamophobia and every other form of heinous hate in Britain, and we back the police in taking strong action against those targeting our communities.”

The monitoring group Tell Mama UK said last week it had recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, the highest annual total in the past 14 years.

It has been just over a year since Hamas and allied groups launched their unprecedented attack on southern Israel. Approximately 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

After the attacks, Israel declared war in Gaza and launched a military campaign that has killed more than 41,000 people, mainly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.