Five injured and suspect dead in Tel Aviv shooting

At least five people have been wounded and a suspect killed after a shooting at a popular nightlife district in Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

The suspect shot at pedestrians on Dizengoff Avenue, in the centre of the city, before being "neutralised by officers", Israeli police said. 

Three people were killed in a shooting on the same street in 2022 and police said they are treating the current incident as "a terrorist attack".

"We evacuated the three with gunshot wounds, one of them in critical condition, one seriously wounded, and one lightly wounded," Magen David Adom director Eli Bin told Israel's Kan television.

It is still not clear who was behind the attack and police have said they are investigating possible motives.

Hamas issued a statement shortly after the incident saying the shooting was in response to the killing of three Palestinians earlier that day in the occupied West Bank, The New Arab's Arabic-language service, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai told residents to return home, Haaretz reported, with many still on the streets after protests against a planned judicial overhaul closed off major roads earlier on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on an official visit to Rome, wished "a speedy recovery to the injured", in a brief televised statement.

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the suspect a "terrorist".

"A serious attack in Tel Aviv... I congratulate the police officer who, in a courageous act, eliminated the heinous terrorist and saved many lives," Ben-Gvir said in a statement.

It follows a series of bloody Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank this week, which saw six Palestinians killed in Jenin on Wednesday and three shot dead in Jaba on Thursday.

Sufyan Fakhoury, 26, Ahmed Fashafsha, 22, and Nayef Malaysha, 25, were shot dead in Jaba on Thursday morning, two of whom Israel claim were part of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, without providing evidence.

At least 68 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in 2023, including 14 children, the Palestinian ministry of health says.

On 26 February, Jewish settlers rampaged through the Palestinian town of Hawara, which saw houses and cars torched and one Palestinian killed, following the killing of two settlers.

Wires contributed to this story.