Police say gunman opened fire at a bar on busy Dizengoff Street during the pre-holiday rush; police go door to door in search for the gunman on the run; Hamas, PIJ praise the attack; 6 people still in serious condition
Israel late on Thursday was in the midst of a widespread manhunt for the gunman who killed at least two Israelis and wounded many others in a suspected terror shooting attack in central Tel Aviv.
Officials said the shooting, at the start of the weekend in Israel, was suspected to have been carried out by an Arab attacker with nationalistic motives who opened fire at a pub on Dizengoff Street, a crowded street of shops, bars and restaurants.
Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, known as Ichilov Hospital, said 10 people were hospitalized following the attack with wounds that varied in severity. At least six were in serious condition, of whom four were fighting for
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is at the Kirya – the Israeli military headquarters – in Tel Aviv receiving updates from security officials, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
At the time of the attack, the area was full of Israelis enjoying the start of the weekend and filling shops ahead of the Passover holiday.
The gunman was caught on security cameras wearing black pants and a black short-sleeve T-shirt with a blue backpack and carrying a pistol. He remains at large.
Security officials urged people to avoid the area and those living nearby not to go outside and close the windows in their apartments.
Hundreds of members of the police and the security forces, including IDF special units, were searching the narrow alleyways of central Tel Aviv, fearing the gunman might take hostages in efforts to evade capture. They have been going door to door.
Roadblocks were also set up outside Tel Aviv in mostly Arab areas in case the gunman had already been able to flee the city.
Public transportation in the area has been stopped and businesses closed.
At nearby Ichilov hospital, Mark Malfiev, 27, was being treated for a gunshot wound. He said he was passing by the bar when the shooting started. “I saw the window shatter, people suddenly started running, and I felt getting hit in the back,” he told reporters from a hospital bed. “I felt a lot of blood. I saw blood.”
The Gaza ruling Hamas terror group issued a statement praising the attack.
Hamas spokesman Abdelatif Al-Qanou said “the heroic attack in the heart of the (Israeli) entity has struck the Zionist security system and proved our people’s ability to hurt the occupation.”
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also praised the attack.
The attack comes just over a week after the deadly terror attack in Bnei Brak where five people were killed, and after earlier attacks in Be’er Sheva and Hadera resulting in the death of six others.
Police and security agencies have been on increased alert for additional attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
As reported by Ynetnews