Israeli border officer wounded in stabbing; police kill suspect

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- An Israeli border patrol officer was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack near the Shivtei Israel light rail station in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday before police opened fire and killed the suspect.

The unnamed officer was given first aid at the scene and transported by ambulance to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where doctors treated him for a wound to his upper body.

The officer was listed in stable condition, although there was no indication of the severity of his injuries.

The Palestinian suspect was not identified.

The attack happened as tensions escalated throughout the region due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which entered its fourth week on Saturday as the Israeli military launched a ground invasion into Gaza, striking military targets in neighboring Syria and Lebanon while raising fears of an expanding conflict.

Meanwhile, Israeli security forces ramped up their presence in the Old City following the attack, while Palestinian media reported that Israeli police had blocked the entry into Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

Border Police commander Brik Yitzhak thanked officers for their quick actions to take down the perpetrator in what was described as a terrorist attack.

"Your vigilance, determination, and striving for contact are worthy of mention, well done," he said in a statement. "You prevented a larger attack with your activity, if you had not come he would have taken the weapon and used it and harmed civilians."

In another such attack on Oct. 12, two Israeli police officers were shot and wounded after a gunman opened fire on a police station near the Damascus Gate in the Old City.