Israel: Several wounded in Jerusalem shooting

At least eight people were wounded after an assailant opened fire on a bus in Jerusalem's Old City early Sunday, Israeli police and medics said.

Israel's emergency medical services, the Magen David Adom (MDA), labeled the incident a "terror attack." MDA spokesperson Zaki Heller said six men and one woman were injured in the attack but that all seven were "fully conscious."

All of the wounded were taken to nearby hospitals. Two of the victims were in serious condition, according to Israeli medical officials.

The shooting occurred as the bus waited in a parking lot near Jerusalem's Western Wall, a Jewish holy site and a place of prayer.

What did witnesses to the attack say?

"I was coming from the Western Wall. The bus was full of passengers," bus driver Daniel Kanievsky told reporters in front of his bullet-riddled vehicle.

"I stopped at the station of the Tomb of David. At this moment, the shooting started. Two people outside I see falling, two inside were bleeding. Everybody panicked," he said.

Israeli police said forces were dispatched to the scene to investigate. Israeli security forces also pushed into the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan pursuing the suspected attacker.

What is the security situation right now?

The shooting comes about a week after a three-day conflict between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in the densely populated Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

 At least 49 Palestinians, including Islamic Jihad fighters and also children, died in the violence, which ended last Sunday after Egypt negotiated a truce.

The Islamic militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, stayed on the sidelines.

What has been the international reaction to the attack?

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price condemned the "terrorist attack" outside the Old City of Jerusalem.

Price said, "Our team in Jerusalem has been working around the clock to support the victims and their families and will continue to monitor the situation closely."

At least five Americans were wounded in the attack.

On Twitter, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, wrote, "The EU condemns in the strongest way the terrorist attack in Jerusalem."

ar,dh/dj,jcg (AP, AFP)