Five Israelis killed in Jerusalem synagogue attack; victims have U.S., British citizenship

JERUSALEM, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A police officer injured when two men attacked worshippers at a synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood of West Jerusalem died Tuesday, bringing the death toll from the incident to five.

Zidan Sayif, 30, was critically injured in the attack and later died at Hadassah University Medical Center.

Also identified among the dead were Moshe Twersky, 59, Arieh Kupinsky, 43, Kalman Levi, 55, all with Israeli-U.S. citizenship; and Avraham Goldberg, 68, who has Israeli-British citizenship.

Defense Forces spokesman Peter Lerner described the incident as a "terror attack," according to CNN.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweeted Tuesday that both of the attackers stormed the synagogue bearing a gun, knives and axes. He added that police had shot and killed both assailants.

The Times of Israel reported six people were injured, including two police officers.

"This is a direct result of incitement led by Hamas," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the militant Islamist organization. "We will respond with a heavy hand to the brutal murder of Jews who came to pray and were eliminated by despicable murderers."

Tuesday's attack occurred amid rising tensions in the city. On Sunday, a Palestinian bus driver was found hanged in Jerusalem. Israeli police declared the death a suicide, though the bus driver's family maintained that he had been murdered by Israelis.

Earlier this month, a Palestinian motorist slammed a van into pedestrians on a street in Jerusalem. He killed one, a police officer, and injured 13 others.