A Hamas fighter opened fired on Sunday at Israelis near the Chain Gate in occupied Al-Quds this morning, killing one Zionist and wounding four others, two of them seriously.

Hamas Movement hailed the operation and identified the hero as a member of the organization, Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, a Hamas leader in the Shuafat refugee camp in East of Al-Quds, where he lived.

According to Israeli police, Abu Shkhaydam entered the “Old City armed with a Beretta M12 submachine gun and opened fire at three Israeli men.” The Israeli regime has immediately closed all the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestine Today reported.

“Zionist forces opened fire on two Palestinians who allegedly organized the attack. One of the Palestinians has been martyred and the other has managed to flee,” Israeli reports said.

“The message of this heroic operation is a warning to the criminal enemy and its regime to stop attacks on our land and our holy sites. Israel will pay a price for the iniquities it commits against al-Aqsa Mosque, Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah and elsewhere,” Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas spokesperson Hazim Qasim also praised the incident, calling it in line with the “legitimate struggle” of the Palestinian people.

“The holy city [of al-Quds] will continue to fight until it expels the foreign occupier, and it will not succumb to the hateful reality of the occupation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abdul-Latif al-Qanu, Hamas’ spokesman said the operation was a natural response to increasing crimes of the regime in the occupied al-Quds, Samaa News reported.

He added that the incident underlines the continuation of the Palestinian nation’s struggle against the occupying regime, and Israeli officials’ inability to snuff out the campaign.

Qanu said the Palestinian resistance against ‘Israel’ will continue unabated until the desired goal of the regime’s annihilation is achieved.