A mob looking for Israelis and Jews overran an airport in Russia's Caucasus republic of Dagestan on Sunday, after rumours spread that a flight was arriving from Israel.

The violence in the mostly Muslim region, which erupted amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, prompted Israel to call on Russia to protect its citizens.

The governor of Dagestan promised that those responsible for the incident would be punished.

Dozens of protesters, many of them chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) broke through doors and barriers, with some running onto the runway, according to videos posted on social media and Russia's RT and Izvestia media.

Shortly afterward, Russia's aviation agency Rosaviatsiya announced that it had closed the airport to incoming and outgoing flights and that security forces had arrived on site.

"The situation is under control," local authorities said on Telegram.

A statement from the republic's health ministry said there had been injuries, but did not elaborate on how many or who had been hurt.

Late on Sunday Rosaviatsiya announced that the airport had been "freed" from the mob and would remain closed until November 6.

Several local Telegram channels showed photos and videos of dozens of men waiting outside the airport to stop cars.

One protester could be seen in the videos holding a sign reading "Child killers have no place in Dagestan".

Other videos showed a crowd inside an airport terminal trying to break down doors as staff members tried to deter them.

Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border on 7 October in the deadliest attack in Israel's history, indiscriminately killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 230 others, according to Israeli officials.

In retaliation, Israel has relentlessly bombed the coastal strip, killing more than 8,000 people, half of them children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.