Israel's foreign ministry reported that seven persons were murdered and ten were injured in a gun attack at a synagogue on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Friday.

The Israeli ambulance service reported that five individuals were killed, and another five were injured and transferred to hospitals, including a 70-year-old widow.

Israeli police labelled it as a "terror attack". They said it occurred in a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Neve Ya'akov, which Palestinians and most international community view as occupied territory illegally acquired after the 1967 Middle East conflict.

The incident occurs on the Jewish Sabbath, one day after the deadliest raid in the West Bank in years.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Reuters in Gaza, "This operation is a response to the crime conducted by the occupation in Jenin and a natural response to the occupation's criminal actions", but he refrained from claiming responsibility for the strike.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad welcomed the attack but did not claim responsibility.