The 7 victims of Jerusalem terror shooting named; include teen and synagogue sexton

Neve Yaakov fatalities were: Rafael Ben Eliyahu, Asher Natan, 14, Shaul Hai, Irina Korolova, llya Sosansky and married couple Eli and Natali Mizrahi

Victims killed in a terror attack in Jerusalem on January 27, 2023, clockwise from top right: Asher Natan, 14, Eli, 48, and Natali Mizrahi, 45, Ilya Sosansky, 26, Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56, Irina Korolova, 59, and Shaul Hai, 68. (Courtesy)
Victims killed in a terror attack in Jerusalem on January 27, 2023, clockwise from top right: Asher Natan, 14, Eli, 48, and Natali Mizrahi, 45, Ilya Sosansky, 26, Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56, Irina Korolova, 59, and Shaul Hai, 68. (Courtesy)

The remaining victims killed in the terror shooting in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood on Friday night were all named on Saturday night.

The attack left seven people dead, two of whom — Eli and Natali Mizrahi — were identified earlier in the day. The shooting was followed by another terror attack Saturday.

The third victim was named as Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56.

Ben Eliyahu, a resident of the area, was survived by his wife and three children. He worked for the state-owned Israel Post.

The fourth victim of the shooting attack was identified as 14-year-old Asher Natan. There was no immediate further information about him.

The fifth victim of the shooting attack was named as 68-year-old Shaul Hai.

Hai was a sexton at a synagogue in the neighborhood, but not the one where the attack took place, according to the Kikar Shabbat news site.

The report said Hai was killed while heading to a Torah lesson at his synagogue.

Irina Korolova, killed in a Jerusalem terror attack on January 27, 2023. (Courtesy)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said another of the victims was a Ukrainian citizen, who was later named Irina Korolova.

According to Hebrew media reports, Korolova worked as a caretaker.

“We share [Israel’s] pain after the terrorist attacks in Jerusalem. Among the victims is a [Ukrainian] woman,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

“Sincere condolences to the victims’ families. The crimes were cynically committed on the [International] Holocaust Remembrance Day.”

The final victim to be identified was named as 26-year-old Ilya Sosansky.

Ilya Sosansky, 26, killed in a Jerusalem terror attack on January 27, 2023. (Courtesy)

Earlier, the first victims to be named were Eli and Natali Mizrahi, a couple.

Eli’s father, Shimon, said the pair had gone outside to try and help those who had been shot, and were killed by the terrorist at point-blank range.

Natali was a veteran employee at the Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital, where she was brought to after being shot on Friday night. Her death was declared immediately upon arrival, the hospital said.

Eli and Natali Mizrahi, killed in Jerusalem terror attack on January 27, 2023. (Courtesy)

Another three people were wounded in the attack — one seriously and the other two moderately. Hadassah Hospital said Saturday that the condition of the man who was seriously hurt has improved to moderate.

Eli and Natali Mizrahi were set to be buried Saturday night at the Derech Hachaim cemetery near the city of Beit Shemesh, the municipality said.

The funeral for Natan, the 14-year-old, was due to begin at 11 p.m. at the Har HaMenuchot Cemetery, and he will be buried at the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

There were no immediate details on the funerals for the four other victims.

With seven killed, the shooting in Jerusalem was the deadliest terror attack since 2011, when terrorists crossed into Israel from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing eight Israelis. It was the deadliest Palestinian terror attack since 2008, when a gunman from East Jerusalem killed eight Israeli students at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the capital.

The attack was followed by another shooting in Jerusalem on Saturday morning, in which two Israelis were seriously hurt. The assailant, a 13-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem, was shot and wounded before being taken into custody.

Friday’s deadly attack came following days of violence in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Tensions have increased dramatically since Thursday morning, when an Israel Defense Forces raid in the West Bank against a terrorist cell left nine Palestinians dead — most of them gunmen and members of the cell, though at least one civilian was also killed.

The IDF said Thursday’s operation in the Jenin refugee camp was necessary to foil imminent attack plans by a local Islamic Jihad terror cell. The group had primed explosives and firearms, according to the IDF.

Hamas praised Friday’s attack as a response to Thursday’s IDF operation, but no terror group took responsibility for it.

Thursday overnight saw rocket fire from Palestinian terror groups in Gaza and Israeli retaliatory air strikes, though both sides appeared intent on avoiding an escalation into a full-scale war.

Tensions were also high in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount on Friday, though Muslim prayers proceeded without issue.

AFP contributed to this report.

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