JERUSALEM -- A Palestinian gunman killed at least seven people during Friday night prayers at a synagogue in east Jerusalem, 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.
Friday's killings come as Israeli security officials prepare for Ramadan, a holy month of fasting for Muslims, which will overlap with the Jewish holiday of Passover in April and has in recent years been accompanied by a surge in violence.
The shooting set off celebrations in 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 tonight, 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.
After the shootings, the attacker drove away in a car and was intercepted by a police squad about five minutes later, according to a police statement. The attacker was then shot dead by police after a brief chase and shootout.
Jerusalem Police Chief Doron Turjeman confirmed seven deaths, in addition to the shooter, and said three people were wounded.
The gunman, who has been identified by Israeli police as a 21-year-old Palestinian man from east Jerusalem with no criminal record, is believed to have acted alone. Turjeman promised an "aggressive and significant" effort to track down anyone who helped him.
Police also released a photo of the pistol it said was used by the attacker.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant huddled with Israel's military chief and other top security officials and instructed them to assist police and strengthen defenses near Jerusalem and for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
"Israel's defense establishment will operate decisively and forcefully against terror and will reach anyone involved in the attack," 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.
Overnight Thursday, Gaza militants fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel, with all of them either intercepted or landing in open areas. Israel responded with airstrikes on targets in Gaza. No casualties were reported, and calm had appeared to be taking hold before Friday night's shooting.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. In Gaza, Hazem Qassem, spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group, said the attack was "a revenge and natural response" to the deadly military raid Thursday.
At several locations across the Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinians gathered in spontaneous demonstrations to celebrate the Jerusalem attack, with some coming out of dessert shops with large trays of sweets to distribute.
In downtown Gaza City, celebratory gunfire could be heard, as cars honked and calls of "God is great!" wafted from mosque loudspeakers. In various West Bank towns, Palestinians launched fireworks.
The attack escalated tensions that were already heightened after Thursday's raid in the town of Jenin, where nine people, including at least seven militants and a 61-year-old woman, were killed. It was the deadliest single raid in the West Bank in two decades. A 10th Palestinian was killed in separate fighting near Jerusalem.
Palestinians protesters marched Friday as they buried the last of those killed a day earlier.
LULL BEFORE STORM
Scuffles between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters broke out after the funeral for a 22-year-old Palestinian north of Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, but calm prevailed in the contested capital and in the blockaded Gaza Strip for most of the day.
That suddenly dissolved with the east Jerusalem shooting, described as "horrific and heartbreaking" by Yair Lapid, the opposition leader and former prime minister.
Neve Yaakov is a smaller enclave nestled between the much larger settlement of Pisgat Ze'ev and the Palestinian districts of Beit Hanina and Al-Ramt that Israel considers to be a neighborhood of its capital. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as a capital of their future state.
Blinken's trip will probably now focus heavily on lowering tensions. He is likely to discuss the underlying causes of the conflict, the agenda of Israel's new far-right government and the Palestinian Authority's decision to halt security coordination with Israel in retaliation for the raid.
The Biden administration has been deeply engaged with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in recent days, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, underscoring the "urgent need here for all parties to deescalate to prevent the further loss of civilian life and to work together to improve the security situation in the West Bank."
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several smaller skirmishes since the militant group seized power in Gaza from rival forces in 2007.
Tensions have soared since Israel stepped up raids in the West Bank last spring after a series of Palestinian attacks.
Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 2022, making it the deadliest year in those territories since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B'Tselem. Last year, 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
So far this year, 30 Palestinians have been killed, according to a count by The Associated Press.
Israel says most of the dead were militants. But youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations also have been killed.
Israel says its raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart attacks. The Palestinians say they further entrench Israel's 55-year, open-ended occupation of the West Bank, captured along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war.
Information for this article was contributed by Josef Federman, Isabel DeBre and Jon Gambrell of The Associated Press, by Patrick Kingsley and Jonathan Rosen of The New York Times and by Shira Rubin, Adam Taylor, Erin Cunningham and Hazem Balousha and Sufian Taha of The Washington Post.
A body is covered on the side walks after a shooting attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing five people and wounding five others in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years, medical officials said. The attack was halted when the gunman was shot by police. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Forensic experts check a body after a shooting attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem , Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Israel's national rescue service Mada says a gunman killed five people and wounded three others in a shooting near a synagogue Friday night in east Jerusalem in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years. The gunman was shot and reportedly killed. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinian mourners carry the body of Yusef Muhaisen during his funeral in the West Bank town of al Ram, north of Jerusalem, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Muhaisen, 22, was killed during clashes with Israeli troops. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinian demonstrators burn tires in a protest against a deadly Israeli army raid at Aida Refugee camp, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. During the raid in the West Bank town of Jenin, Israeli forces killed at least nine Palestinians, including a 60-year-old woman, and wounded several others, Palestinian health officials said, in one of the deadliest days of fighting in years. The Israeli military said it was conducting an operation to arrest militants when a gun battle erupted. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Members of Zaka Rescue and Recovery team check victims of a shooting attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing five people and wounding five others in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years, medical officials said. The attack was halted when the gunman was shot by police. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinian mourners carry the body of Yusef Muhaisen during his funeral in the West Bank town of al Ram, north of Jerusalem, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Muhaisen, 22, was killed during clashes with Israeli troops. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinian rescuers inspect the site of a damaged building following an Israeli forces raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Israeli forces killed at least nine Palestinians, including a 60-year-old woman, and wounded several others during a raid in the flashpoint area of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, in one of the deadliest days of fighting in years. The Israeli military said it was conducting an operation to arrest militants when a gun battle erupted. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Victims of a shooting attack are covered on the ground near a synagogue in Jerusalem , Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Israel's national rescue service Mada says a gunman killed five people and wounded three others in a shooting near a synagogue Friday night in east Jerusalem in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years. The gunman was shot and reportedly killed. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Fire and smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. Gaza militants fired rockets at Israel and Israel carried out airstrikes as tensions soared following an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank. The raid killed nine Palestinians, including at least seven militants and a 61-year-old woman. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the site of a shooting attack Friday evening near a synagogue in Jerusalem. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in years, and Netanyahu called on the public not to take the law into their own hands. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)
Members of Zaka Rescue and Recovery team transport the body of a shooting victim Friday evening in east Jerusalem. The shooting at a synagogue that left at least seven people dead came as Israeli security officials gear up for a possible surge in violence ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in April. (AP/Mahmoud Illean)