Seven people have been shot dead at a synagogue in East Jerusalem, with at least three others injured.

The incident happened in the city's Neve Yaakov neighbourhood at around 20:15 local time (18:15 GMT).

Police described the attacker as a "terrorist" and said he had been "neutralised."

The US has condemned the attack. A spokesperson for the state department, Vedant Patel, said: "We stand with the Israeli people in solidarity."

Several other countries have also expressed their concern, including Australia and the UK.

"To attack worshippers at a synagogue on Holocaust Memorial Day, and during Shabbat, is horrific. We stand with our Israeli friends", British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on Twitter.

Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the victims of the Holocaust, when six million Jews were killed by the Nazi regime in Germany.

Local media report that the attacker was killed by security forces as he was fleeing the scene.

"The attacker is a resident of East Jerusalem," said district police commander, Doron Turgeman. "We are completing operations at the scene."

Tensions have been high since nine Palestinians - both militants and civilians - were killed during an Israeli military raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.

This was followed by rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, to which Israel responded with air strikes.(BBC)