According to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, three Palestinians carried out a shooting attack at the Lions’ Gate at around 7:00 a.m. on Friday, critically injuring two Israeli police officers, who were taken to hospitals for treatment, and moderately injuring another.
Despite reports in Hebrew-language media stating that two Israeli officers had succumbed to their wounds, Rosenfeld told Ma'an News Agency that both were still alive, "as far as I know."
Israeli forces then heavily opened fire towards the Palestinians as they headed towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, injuring the three, who were left on the ground bleeding while medics were reportedly prevented from approaching them, witnesses told Ma’an.
The Palestinians entered Lions’ Gate on a motorcycle and shot at the police officers at point-blank range, before heading towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound’s Gate of Remission -- known in Arabic as Bab al-Huttah -- where Israeli forces shot them at close range, according to the witnesses.
A spokesperson for the hospital in which the two seriously injured officers were taken could not immediately be reached for comment. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Shaare Zedek Medical Center told Ma'an that it was treating one Israeli man who was "lightly injured" by live fire, and two others who suffered from "panic attacks."
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said that the Palestinians were carrying two Carlo submachine guns, a handgun, and a knife.
Rosenfeld added that Israeli police had closed off the area of the Old City, including blocking access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, as witnesses said that Israeli forces were preventing people from entering or leaving the compound.
The deadly incident took place as Israeli forces killed an 18-year-old Palestinian early on Friday during a detention raid in the al-Duheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem, raising the toll of Palestinians killed by Israelis in 2017 to 43.
Eight Israelis have been killed by Palestinians during the same time period.