Jerusalem terror attack: 14-year-old boy named among seven victims

A 14-year-old boy has been named as one of the victims of a terror attack on Friday evening outside a Jerusalem synagogue that left seven people dead.

Also among the dead is a couple who had reportedly reportedly gone outside to help those shot in the attack before being shot by the terrorist at point-blank range.

The shooting in Jerusalem’s Neve Ya’akov neighbourhood was the deadliest terrorist attack against Israelis since 2008.

Three of the victims were laid to rest on Saturday as Israel mourned the lives lost. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after a meeting of the Security Cabinet that Israel would "combat terror and exact a price from terrorists and their supporters".

The 14-year-old victim has been named as Asher Natan, and he was buried in the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on Saturday evening by devastated family and friends.

Asher Natan

Asher Natan, 14, was killed in Friday's terror attack (Photo: courtesy)

Natan had left his home to go and meet friends after Shabbat dinner when he was shot dead, according to Ynet news. When his parents heard the shooting, the went out to search for their son, realising an hour later than he had been murdered.

Paying tribute to his son at his funeral on Saturday, Aharon Natan said: “I always wanted so much for things to be good for you. Now you’re in a good place for eternity.

“Asher didn’t die, he only parted from his body. His soul is eternal. The unity here is a giant embrace for us."

“I’m sorry that sometimes I hurt you and didn’t see the good in you,” he said to his son, Ynet reports.

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Family and friends attend the funeral of 14-year-old Asher Natan, a victim of a shooting attack in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood on Friday evening, on January 28, 2023 (Photo by Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

The married couple killed in the attack were named as Eli and Natali Mizrahi, and Eli's father, Shimon, said that they had run outside in an attempt to help those who had been shot during the attack. They were killed at point-blank range, he added.

“I cried out for them to not go down, but they didn’t respond. They heard gunfire and went out to help,” Shimon said as they were laid to rest on Saturday in the Derech Hachaim cemetery near the city of Beit Shemesh.

Natali Mizrahi was a long-time employee of the Mount Scopus hospital where she was brought following the attack. The hospital said that she was declared dead immediately upon arrival.

Eli and Natali Mizrahi

Eli and Natali Mizrahi ran outside to help the victims of the terror attack before being shot dead themselves (Photo: courtesy)

The funerals for the other victims of Friday's attack have not yet been held, but they have been named as Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56; Shaul Hai, 68; Irina Korolova, 59; and Ilya Sosansky, 26.

Another three people were injured in the attack and were rushed to hospital in varying conditions.

Shaul Hai was reportedly a sexton at a nearby synagogue (not the one where the attack took place), and was killed while heading to a Torah lesson.

Rafael Ben Eliyahu worked for the state-owned Israel post, and was a resident of the area where the attack took place. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Hebrew media reports that Irina Korolova worked as a caretaker. She was a Ukrainian citizen, and in a statement on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We share [Israel’s] pain after the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem. Among the victims is a [Ukrainian] woman,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter. “Sincere condolences to the victims’ families. The crimes were cynically committed on the [International] Holocaust Remembrance Day.”

Palestinians celebrate the terror attack in Jerusalem. | pic.twitter.com/xWQEtgbyIv
— Mike (@Doranimated) January 27, 2023

In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “On behalf of all citizens of Israel, I would like to send condolences from the bottom of my heart to the families of those murdered in the heinous and terrible attack in our capital, Jerusalem."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid added: "The heart breaks. I send condolences and strength to the families at this difficult hour.”

Friday's attack was followed by a second shooting on Saturday morning where a 13-year-old Palestinian shot and injured two Israelis outside the Old City of Jerusalem, and a third when a gunman started firing at a restaurant in the West Bank, but resulted in no injuries.

The spate of attacks in Israel follows escalating tensions with the Palestinian leadership, who last week severed security ties with Israel following an IDF counterterrorism raid in the West Bank that left nine Palestinians dead. Although most were gunmen and members of a terror cell, at least one civilian was also killed.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at the Police headquarters in Jerusalem following the deadly terror attack on January 27, 2023 (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet and decided on steps to “strengthen settlements” in the coming week, but did not provide more detail.

It was also decided that the home of the terrorist, who was shot an killed during the attack, would be sealed off.

The Security Cabinet also announced that it would examine cancelling National insurance and other benefits for the families of terrorists who support their actions, and a law nullifying the national ID number of families who support terrorists will be debated at a meeting of the full Cabinet later today, the Times of Israel reports.

Opening the meeting of the Security Cabinet, Mr Netanyahu said: "Our response will be strong, fast and accurate. Whoever tries to hurt us — we will harm them, and anyone who helps them. We are not looking for escalation, but we are prepared for any scenario."

He also urged Israelis to not take the law into their own hands and to let the security forces do their work.

Although Hamas praised Friday's terror attack, no terror group has taken responsibility for it, and it would appear that both sides are keen to avoid an escalation in hostilities.