Palestinian groups hail ‘heroic operation’ that kills 2 in Tel Aviv

At least two people are killed and eight others are injured during a shooting attack in the heart of Tel Aviv that is praised by several Palestinian resistance groups for its daring nature.

The incident reportedly took place in the city’s Dizengoff Street on Thursday.

The attacker "opened fire at short range and then fled on foot. Several people are wounded," police spokesman Eli Levy said on the Israeli regime’s Channel 13 television.

"So far, 10 wounded have arrived at the trauma room of Ichilov Hospital. But unfortunately, despite the doctors' efforts, two of the wounded died," the hospital said in a statement.

It said four of those wounded were in "critical condition" and undergoing surgery.

Television footage showed armed officers running down the major commercial street and smaller side streets trying to track down the attacker. A police helicopter shined a spotlight on the streets from above.

Large numbers of emergency responders arrived on the scene and the police told residents to stay indoors.

No person or group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Palestinians have, however, ramped up their retaliatory attacks against Israeli forces in recent weeks, carrying out a series of operations that have killed at least 11 Israelis since March 22. Eight Palestinians have also been killed during the same period.

The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a coalition of a number of armed Palestinian groups, hailed the “heroic operation,” saying it “confused the Zionist enemy and proved its fragility and weakness.”

The operation “showed the ability of our Palestinian people and their resistant youth to take the battle to the depths of the enemy's entity,” the PRC said in a statement.

“It proved that the spirit of challenge and resistance in our people exceeds the power of the Zionist enemy.”

Abdul-Latif al-Qanou, a spokesman for the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas, also said the operation managed to strike the Zionist security system and showed the ability of “our people to hurt the Zionist regime,” the Palestinian Shehab news agency reported.