Seven people have been killed and several injured in a shooting at a synagogue in Jerusalem, according to Israeli police.
The gunman was shot and killed and a large police presence was at the scene.
Several others were injured in the shooting, including a 70-year-old woman in critical condition and a 14-year-old boy in serious condition, the medical service said.
Israeli police described it as a “terror attack” and said it took place in a synagogue in Neve Yaakov, considered by Israelis to be a neighbourhood within Jerusalem, while Palestinians and most of the international community consider it occupied land illegally annexed after the Six-Day War in 1967.
They said the attacker was a “terrorist who was neutralised by the police force” and described him as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem who “carried out the attack at the scene alone”.
Forensic experts check a body. Pic: AP
It comes after a deadly raid by the Israeli military yesterday that killed nine Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. A 10th was later killed north of Jerusalem.
Gaza militants then fired rockets and Israel responded with air strikes overnight. There were no reports of injuries.
Earlier today Palestinians marched in anger as they buried the last of the people killed by Israeli fire.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Reuters: “This operation is a response to the crime conducted by the occupation in Jenin and a natural response to the occupation’s criminal actions”, though he stopped short of claiming the attack.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also praised but did not claim the attack.
Speaking from near the scene Sky correspondent Alistair Bunkall said: “We’ve seen some ambulances leaving the scene as we’ve been here in the last half an hour or so.
“Things are incredibly tense. There have been flashbangs set off just up the road from us in the Palestinian neighbourhood.”
“And it comes of course on International Holocaust Memorial Day, the attack happened just hours after the start of Shabbat, the Israeli day of rest, and it comes barely 24 hours after 10 people were killed in the West Bank yesterday, including nine in an Israeli special forces raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.”
Israeli forces stand guard near the scene of the shooting
The United States condemned the “apparent terrorist attack”, with US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said he did not expect changes to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel next week.
“This is absolutely horrific. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to those killed by this heinous act of violence. We condemn this apparent terrorist attack in the strongest terms. Our commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad,” he said.