The shooting at a synagogue in East Jerusalem has left seven dead, making it the worst act of its sort in years. No less than three additional persons were hurt.
At around 20:15 local time, the event occurred in the Neve Yaakov district of the city (18:15 GMT).
The attacker, who police called a “terrorist,” was “neutralized,” they claimed.
According to the regional press, he was a Palestinian guy from East Jerusalem.
Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said it was “one of the deadliest attacks we have experienced in recent years” while speaking at the site.
Israelis had just finished praying at a synagogue in the Jewish hamlet to mark the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath when the assailant began fire. After that, authorities reportedly shot and killed him.
A white vehicle, perhaps driven by the shooter, is currently being examined by forensic investigators.
The incident was hailed by Palestinian terrorist factions, but no group claimed responsibility for it.
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip marked the incident with marches and the distribution of candy.
Close by, police have cordoned off a large area, including the synagogue; armed security personnel can be seen everywhere, and emergency vehicles are still zipping by. Overhead, a helicopter makes a circular motion.
A wrecked automobile sits in the center of the street. Bullets pierced the windshield on the driver’s side. An investigator from the police department’s forensics unit is using a headlamp to search the trunk. We’re told to take a step back.
According to a witness, the shooter was firing into the air as security personnel chased him down in this very street, presumably after being shot by police. This intersection is far from the synagogue, suggesting that he made an attempt at fleeing from there.
We think the loud noises came from a large Palestinian neighborhood close by, where people may have been fighting with Israeli police.
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Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember the six million Jews and other victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
“It is beyond awful to assault congregants in a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day and on Shabbat. Allies in Israel have our full support “James Cleverly, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, posted on Twitter.
“The United States condemns in the greatest terms the horrible terrorist assault,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated.
The White House reported that Vice President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and provided “appropriate methods of support.”
Mr. Netanyahu and the divisive ultra-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir both went to the scene soon after the event.
According to BBC Jerusalem correspondent Yolande Knell, there is growing frustration at Mr. Ben-Gvir for failing to restore public safety in Israel.
After nine Palestinians, including terrorists and civilians, were murdered in an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, tensions have been rising.
After that, rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza, prompting a military response.
A UN spokesman has expressed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ “grave concern” about the “current escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Stephane Dujarric remarked, “Now is the time to practice maximum restraint.”
Since the 1967 Middle East War, Israel has occupied East Jerusalem and claimed the entire city as its capital, despite widespread international rejection of this claim.
The Palestinians envision an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.