'Natural response to crimes of the occupier': Hamas claims responsibility for Jerusalem shooting that killed 3

Hamas has claimed responsibility for the shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed three people and left several others injured on Thursday.

Two Palestinian attackers opened fire at a busy bus stop in Jerusalem on Thursday morning, killing at least three people and wounding several others.

“Two terrorists arrived at the scene in a vehicle armed with firearms, these terrorists opened fire towards civilians at the bus station and were subsequently neutralized by security forces and a nearby civilian,” Israeli police had said.

The two gunmen were shot dead "after the attack by two off-duty IDF (Israeli army) soldiers and another civilian who fired at them", police said in a statement.

The three victims of the terror attack have been identified as a 73-year-old rabbi, Elimelech Waserman, along with Hana Ifergan, 67, and Livia Dikman, 24.

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In a statement published later, Hamas said that the attack was "a natural response to the unprecedented crimes of the occupier in the Gaza Strip and against children in Jenin", in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The terror group said that the two attackers were brothers, identified as Murad Nemr, 38, and Ibrahim Nemr, 30, who were members of the group based in east Jerusalem.

Police said the attackers had been jailed by Israel in the past.

In a statement posted on Telegram, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the swift action of the off-duty soldiers and civilians had "prevented an even more serious attack".

With inputs from AFP