In Pictures: Gunbattle in Jerusalem

Israeli police check the scene and surround a dead body (in foreground) where assailants fired shots towards Israeli forces in Jerusalem's Old City.

The three fled to a nearby holy site before being killed by security forces, police said.

The Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount is considered the third-holiest site in Islam and the most sacred in Judaism.

Police locked down the area and the al-Aqsa compound at the holy site was closed for Friday prayers. Gates leading to the site were sealed off.

Video being shared on social media appeared to show gunshots ringing out at the holy site.

"I was standing here and then I heard the shooting. I thought it was fireworks," Basem Badawi, a 60-year-old water seller in the Old City, told AFP.

Mobile phone video footage aired by Israeli media showed several policemen chasing a man and shooting him down at the site, which is a popular place for foreign tourists to visit.

Israeli security forces frisk a man in the Jerusalem's Old City on July 14, 2017, following an attack.

Israeli police check the scene where assailants fired shots at Israeli forces in the Jerusalem's Old City.