Tel Aviv: Four persons were killed on Wednesday night when two attackers identified as Palestinian militants opened fire at a popular food and shopping complex near the Israeli Defense Ministry in capital Tel Aviv.
The attackers were captured, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, with one shot and the second arrested at the upscale Sarona market, CNN reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called "a savage crime, murder in the heart of Tel Aviv".
"We will take the necessary steps to attack the attackers and defend those who need to be defended," he said.
A video posted on social media showed a uniformed officer firing a handgun, although his target could not be seen.
Other footage showed people running away from the area in panic.
A hospital nearby said at least three people were killed, with a total of nine having earlier been reported wounded at the Sarona Market in Israel's commercial capital.
Amir Ohana, a member of the Israeli Parliament who was at Sarona market, told CNN that people were enjoying a serene night when violence erupted.
"People were having coffee," he said, adding "I saw a birthday cake on one of the tables. And then you see the chairs upside down and glass shattered and blood all over."
The four victims were Israeli citizens, Rosenfeld said.
The nighttime shooting led police to clear the area.
"We are talking here about a pretty serious terrorist incident," Tel Aviv police chief Chico Edri told reporters.
"Two terrorists arrived at the complex and while firing and to our regret nine people were injured to different degrees."
Over the last eight months Palestinians have carried out dozens of attacks on civilians and security forces, mostly stabbings, shootings and car ramming assaults that have killed 32 Israelis and two Americans. About 200 Palestinians have been killed during that time, most identified as attackers by Israel. The assaults were once near-daily incidents but they have become less frequent in recent weeks.
Most of the attacks have been in east Jerusalem or the West Bank, territories Israel seized from Jordan in the 1967 war which the Palestinians want for their future state.
But Tel Aviv, Israel's most cosmopolitan city, has not been spared.
A member of Israel's Arab minority went on a shooting rampage on New Year's Day, killing three people. And in March a Palestinian went on stabbing spree, killing an American and wounding 7 other people before he was shot and killed.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner condemned the "horrific terrorist attack" in a statement, saying "cowardly attacks against innocent civilians can never be justified."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he was shocked that Hamas leaders "chose to welcome this attack."
Agencies
