Six people were killed and more than seven seriously injured in a shooting attack by Palestinian gunmen in Jerusalem, according to paramedics and Israeli police.

Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom identified the dead as three men in their 30s, and a woman and a man in their 50s.

Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to hospitals, and three others were injured by broken glass.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is at the scene of the attack.

Israeli police said two “terrorists” arrived in a vehicle and opened fire at a bus stop at the Ramot junction on the northern outskirts of the city.

A security officer and a civilian returned fire and neutralized the attackers, it added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Hamas issued a statement saying it “praises” the attackers’ actions and calls them a “natural response” to Israel’s military activity in Gaza.

During his visit to the scene of the shooting, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to reporters and said authorities are surrounding the villages from which the attackers came.

According to Israeli media, the gunmen are believed to have departed from the villages of al-Qubeiba and Qatanna, located about 10 km west of the Ramot crossing.

Calling the events a “war on several fronts,” Netanyahu said Israel has thwarted hundreds of attacks this year, “but was unable to do so this morning.”

Soldiers and police cooperating

Police said a large number of officers are controlling the area where the attack occurred and that bomb disposal units are securing the area while forensic teams collect evidence.

The Israeli military said soldiers were also deployed to the area and were searching for suspects in cooperation with police.

Soldiers are also surrounding several areas on the outskirts of the city of Ramallah,in the occupied West Bank, to “prevent terrorism and strengthen defenses,” he added.

Deputy Police Commissioner Shlomi Bachar told Channel 12 TV that officers were “trying to understand how they got here, who brought them,” adding that they hope to find those responsible “soon,” the Times of Israel reported.

For his part, Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority – which governs parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control – issued a statement condemning any attacks against Palestinian and Israeli citizens.

He stated that he condemns any form of violence and terrorism, regardless of its origin.

He added that recognition of a Palestinian state is essential to ending the cycle of violence in the region.