Hamas hails a 'heroic operation' after a Palestinian gunman kills 1 and wounds 4 in Jerusalem's Old City attack

Israeli security personnel carry a dead body down the steps following an incident in Jerusalem's Old City November 21, 2021.

REUTERS/Ammar Awad

• A Palestinian has shot dead one man in Israel and injured four others. 
• The man who died has been identified as Eliyahu David Kay, 26, a Western Wall tour guide. 
• Hamas claimed responsibility for the shooting, calling it a "heroic operation."

A Hamas gunman killed a recent immigrant to Israel in Jerusalem's Old City before being shot dead by Israeli police. 

Two civilians and two police officers were also injured in the attack, according to the Jerusalem Post. Two female police officers arrived at the scene and opened fire on the attacker. 

The attack took place shortly after 9am near a sacred site referred to as Temple Mount by Jews, and known as the Noble Sanctuary or Aqsa Mosque by Muslims, according to the New York Times.

Hamas identified the shooter as Fadi Abu Chkhaidem, a 42-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem, calling his attack a "heroic operation," Reuters reports.  

The victim has been identified as Eliyahu David Kay, a 26-year-old South African immigrant who worked as a tour guide at the Western Wall, the Times of Israel said. 

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Internal Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev said that "[The gunman] moved through the alleys and fired quite a bit. Luckily, the alley was mostly empty because otherwise - heaven forbid - there would have been more casualties," the BBC report. 

The shooting follows an incident in Jerusalem's Old City four days previously when a 16-year-old Palestinian teenager was killed after stabbing two Israeli police officers.