Gunman kills 7 at synagogue

Netanyahu vows action as attack follows deadly raid in West Bank

A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven people, including a 70year-old woman, and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by police, officials said. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in years and raised the likelihood of more bloodshed.

The attack, which occurred as residents were observing the Jewish Sabbath, came a day after an Israeli military raid killed nine people in the West Bank. The shooting set off celebrations in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, where people fired guns into the air, honked horns and distributed sweets.

The burst of violence, which also included a rocket barrage from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes, has posed an early challenge for Israel’s new government, which is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for a hard line against Palestinian violence. It also cast a cloud over a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region Sunday.

Addressing reporters at Israel’s national police headquarters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had held a security assessment and decided on “immediate actions.”

He said he would convene his security cabinet Saturday night, after the end of the sabbath, to discuss a further response.

Netanyahu declined to elaborate, but said Israel would act with “determination and composure.” He called on the public not to take the law into their own hands.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. strongly condemned the attack and was “shocked and saddened by the loss of life,” noting it came on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“The United States will extend our full support to the government and people of Israel,” she said.

U.S. officials said later Friday that President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu to offer U.S. support to the government and people of Israel, calling the shootings “an attack against the civilized world.”

“The president stressed the ironclad U.S. commitment to Israel’s security,” the White House said of the call.

Israeli police said the shootings occurred in Neve Yaakov, a neighbourhood with a large ultra-Orthodox population, and that the gunman fled in a car. Police said they chased after him and after an exchange of fire, killed him.

Jerusalem police chief Doron Turjeman confirmed seven deaths, in addition to the shooter, and said three people were wounded.

Police identified the attacker as a 21-year-old east Jerusalem resident who apparently acted alone. Turjeman promised an “aggressive and significant” effort to track down anyone who helped him.

“Israel’s defence establishment will operate decisively and forcefully against terror and will reach anyone involved in the attack,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.

Israel’s MADA rescue service said the dead victims were five men and two women, including several who were 60 or older. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital said a 15-year-old boy was recovering from surgery.

The attack was the deadliest on Israelis since a 2008 shooting killed eight people in a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, according to the Foreign Ministry. Given the location and timing, it threatened to trigger a tough response from Israel.