At least seven people have been killed by gunmen who are reported to have infiltrated and attacked a Jewish seminary in West Jerusalem.
Israeli emergency services say at least six people were injured in the attack at the Mercaz Harav seminary in the Kiryat Moshe quarter of Jerusalem. Reports said one attacker was killed and police were hunting another.
It is the worst attack of its kind for a number of years. There were no attacks within Jerusalem during 2007.
The gunmen are said to have entered the building at the rabbinical seminary, where about 80 people were gathered.
Yaron Tzuker, a medic, said he arrived as the gunfire was still going on. "They were still shooting when we got here," he told Channel 10 television. "We took cover and the ambulance was hit. It's horrible inside - dead bodies and wounded - it's horrific."
The school is a well-known centre for Jewish studies and most students are aged between 18 and 30. It is said to identify with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement - who believe the West Bank should be in Jewish and not Palestinian hands.
There were reports of celebratory gunfire in Gaza after news broke about the attack. Hamas officials in Gaza welcomed the attack but stopped short of admitting responsibility.
The BBC's Crispin Thorold says this will be a particularly shocking incident for the Israeli public and Jewish people around the world - which comes at an extremely tense time. Israel, he says, is likely to take retaliatory action.
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