Two Israeli police officers were injured in a terrorist shooting attack in Jerusalem just outside the Old City on Thursday evening, the Israel Police confirmed.
“A short time ago, a terrorist armed with a Carlo-type [submachine] weapon fired at police officers at the entrance to the Shalem police station of the Jerusalem District,” an Israel Police spokesperson confirmed.
One of the officers was in serious condition while another was moderately injured, medical authorities said.
The police said that the officers returned fire at the assailant, who attempted to flee the scene before being “neutralized.”
A substantial number of police forces were called to the scene to scan the area for accomplices, added the statement.
Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman held a situational assessment with police commanders at the scene.
The gates of Jerusalem’s Old City were briefly closed following the terror attack, according to Arab reports.
The attack comes amid ongoing fighting sparked by Hamas’s infiltration of the Jewish state on Oct. 7, when they killed at least 1,300 Israelis in a massive offensive launched from the Gaza Strip that included the firing of thousands of rockets at Israel and the taking of as many as 150 hostages.
On Sunday, the Israeli Security Cabinet authorized the start of the offensive phase of “Operation Swords of Iron,” ordering the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the “destruction of the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad.”
Also on Sunday, a terrorist killed two Israeli tourists in Alexandria, Egypt, near an ancient Roman triumphal column called Pompey’s Pillar.
The group’s Egyptian tour guide was also killed and another Israeli was wounded.
On Sunday night, Israeli forces arrested two Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem armed with a knife near a synagogue in the capital’s Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood.
The suspects also had with them a kippah and a necklace with a Star of David pendant, suggesting that they were planning to disguise themselves as Jews.
On Monday, Israeli security forces neutralized a Palestinian terrorist who drove a heavy tractor through a military barrier in Hebron towards the local Jewish community, all the while livestreaming the attack on social media.
The terrorist attempted to ram the force guarding the post, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Several hours later, security personnel thwarted an attempted car-ramming attack at the entrance to the Samaria city of Ariel. No casualties were reported, and the suspected terrorist was arrested.