At around 9 pm Beirut time, gunfire was heard throughout a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon shortly after an attack in a synagogue in Jerusalem.
The Borj el Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp erupted in celebratory gunfire following news that 7 people were killed and at least 3 others wounded.
The incident took place as Israeli worshippers were gathered for prayers at the start of the Jewish Sabbath in the city’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood.
As they were leaving the synagogue, the gunman opened fire before fleeing the scene by car towards the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, which is several hundred meters away.
A few minutes later, he encountered officers who were called to the scene and was shot dead after exiting the car and opening fire on the officers while attempting to escape on foot.
Palestinian militant groups praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it. Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon celebrated the attack, calling it “heroic.”
Hezbollah’s media outlet Al Manar identified the attacker as 21-year-old Kheiri Alqam from the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem.
Israeli police arrested 42 individuals in connection with the deadly shooting.
The situation in the region has been tense following the deaths of nine Palestinians – both militants and civilians – during an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
This was followed by rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, which prompted Israel to respond with air strikes.
The synagogue shooting occurred on Holocaust Memorial Day, which commemorates the six million Jews and other victims who were killed during the Holocaust by the Nazi regime in Germany.
Featured image shows the aftermath of the attack outside the synagogue (left) and people in Gaza celebrating (right).
