JERUSALEM—Two men were killed, and a woman and child were injured on Saturday evening in a terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The victims were identified as Rabbi Nehemia Lavie, 41, of Jerusalem, and Aharon Benet, 22, of Beitar Ilit. Benet’s wife was in serious condition after undergoing surgery in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. Their 2-year-old child was lightly injured in the attack and is being treated at Sha’arei Tzedek Medical Center.
The incident began around 7:30 p.m., police reported, when a knife-wielding terrorist attacked the couple and their toddler son as they walked past the Lion’s Gate on their way to the Western Wall. He then attacked Lavie.
A fifth male victim, who is in his 20s, was lightly wounded.
The terrorist then took a pistol from one of the victims and began firing wildly into a crowd of tourists before border-police officers on patrol nearby shot and killed him.
The terrorist was identified as Muhammad Shafeq Halabi, 19, from al Bireh, near Ramallah. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsiblity for the attack. Hamas issued a statement that praised the “heroic operation.”
Lavie, an Old City resident who taught at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva, leaves behind a wife and seven children. His funeral is scheduled to take place on Sunday at noon at Har Hamenuchot cemetery.
This article was published in Jerusalem after the conclusion of the Sabbath.
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