Mass shooting incident near East Jerusalem synagogue leaves seven dead and three injured

Seven people were killed and three injured when a gunman opened fire near a mosque in East Jerusalem.

Seven people were killed and three more injured in a terrorist attack on Friday evening, January 27, near a synagogue in the Jewish neighbourhood of Neve Yaakov in East Jerusalem, as reported by the press service of the Israeli police.

According to the MADA rescue service, the deceased included five males and two females, one of whom was a 70-year-old woman. Among the injured was a 15-year-old boy who subsequently underwent surgery.

“Terrorist attack in Jerusalem: Tonight at around 20:30 local time, a terrorist arrived at the synagogue on Neve Yaakov Boulevard in Jerusalem and began shooting at a number of people who were nearby. Police forces quickly arrived on the scene, identified the terrorist and opened fire on him. The terrorist was neutralised”, read a message on the Israeli police’s Twitter page.

“Seven innocent people were killed and many more were injured in the terrorist attack”, it continued Earlier in the evening, The Jerusalem Post, and several other Israeli media outlets, reported eight dead.

פיגוע הירי בירושלים – המחבל שנוטרל ע"י כוח המשטרה הוא תושב מזרח ירושלים, בן 21. מחקירה ראשונית עולה כי המחבל ביצע את הפיגוע בזירה לבדו. בעקבות הדיווחים על הירי, הוזעק למקום כוח משטרה של מחוז ירושלים, שחתר למגע לעבר המחבל בתוך פחות מחמש דקות מקבלת הדיווח הראשון אודות הירי pic.twitter.com/oG4ohuiuo8

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) January 27, 2023

An armed attack occurred near the Ateret Avraham synagogue in the Jewish district of Neve Yaakov in East Jerusalem after the onset of Shabbat. The Israeli police immediately stated that they were considering the incident as a terrorist attack.

The deceased terrorist was identified as 21-year-old Alkam Khairi from east Jerusalem. It was reported that he had no known terror connections prior to the attack.

השוטר שנטרל את המחבל בירושלים pic.twitter.com/iFQOnrpuHs

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) January 27, 2023

Neve Yaakov is considered by Israelis to be a neighbourhood within Jerusalem, while Palestinians and much of the international community consider it occupied land that was illegally annexed after the 1967 Six-Day War.

The attack came as tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began to escalate. On Thursday 26, Israeli security forces conducted a large-scale special operation in the city of Jenin on the West Bank of the River Jordan.

Their target was militants of the Islamic Jihad radical organisation, who were accused of preparing terrorist attacks in Israel. During the raid, according to various sources, from six to 11 Palestinians were killed.

In response, the radicals launched several rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on Friday night. All of these projectiles were either intercepted by Israeli air defence forces or fell on the territory of the Palestinian enclave, no casualties were reported.

After that, the Israeli Air Force launched strikes on the Gaza Strip, reportedly hitting two targets of the radical Hamas movement, according to tass.ru.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.