The synagogue attack in East Jerusalem that left seven people dead was the deadliest of its sort in years. There were at least three more injuries.

At around 20:15 local time, the event took place in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of the city (18:15 GMT).

The attacker was “neutralized” by police, who called him a “terrorist.”

He was described as a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem by the local media.

Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai described the incident as “one of the worst attacks we have encountered in recent years” while speaking on the scene.

Israeli worshipers were exiting a synagogue in the Jewish hamlet where they had gathered for prayers to begin the Jewish Sabbath when the shooter started firing. According to police, policemen then fatally shot him.

Teams of forensic experts are looking into a white automobile that the shooter might have been driving.

While not claiming responsibility for the incident, Palestinian militant factions applauded it.

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip held marches and distributed sweets to commemorate the attack.

line Analysis box by Middle East correspondent Tom Bateman
Ambulances are still passing by and the police have closed off a large area near the synagogue; armed security personnel are everywhere. A chopper is circling above.

A wrecked car is in the center of the street. There are gunshot holes in the driver’s side windscreen. A police forensics investigator is searching the car’s trunk with a head lamp. They instruct us to retreat.

An eyewitness claims to have seen the shooter firing into the air as security personnel chased after him in the street, presumably after being shot by the police. Given that this intersection is some distance from the synagogue, it appears that this was his attempt to flee.

We’ve heard a few loud explosions that might have originated from a large Palestinian neighborhood nearby and that point to possible conflicts between locals and Israeli police.

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The attack took place on Holocaust Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember the six million Jews and other victims who perished during the Holocaust in Germany under the Nazi government.

“It is horrifying to assault worshipers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day and Shabbat. Joining forces with our Israeli friends “James Cleverly, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, tweeted.

“The United States condemns in the greatest terms the horrible terrorist assault,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

According to the White House, President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and offered all “necessary means of support.”

Mr. Netanyahu and the controversial far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, both paid a visit to the location soon after the incident.

Israeli emergency services officers secure the area where a synagogue attack is allegedly taking place.
Israeli security forces and emergency services responded to the scene, as shown in the image description.
According to Yolande Knell of the BBC in Jerusalem, Mr. Ben-Gvir promised to restore safety to Israel’s streets, but there is growing resentment that he has not yet done so.

Since nine Palestinians, including terrorists and civilians, were killed on Thursday during an Israeli military assault in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, tensions have been particularly high.

Following this, Gaza started firing rockets into Israel, to which Israel launched airstrikes.

According to a spokesperson, Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, is “very concerned by the recent escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.”

The time to be extremely restrained is now, according to Stephane Dujarric.

The majority of the international world does not recognize Israel’s claim to be the capital of the entire city of Jerusalem, even though Israel has been occupying East Jerusalem since the Middle East conflict of 1967.

East Jerusalem is where the Palestinians see their future independent state’s capital to be located.