At least three people were killed and four wounded in a knife attack this evening in the town of Elad near Tel Aviv, Israeli doctors said.
Police said they suspect it was an attack by an "extremist" who fled in a vehicle.
Security forces set up roadblocks on nearby roads and sent a helicopter to monitor.
The emergency service announced that three people were killed and four were wounded, and that two of the injured were in a serious condition.
The Palestinian extremist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it.
Israel celebrates its Independence Day today.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have risen in recent weeks, following a series of attacks in Israel, military operations in the occupied West Bank and violence at the Jerusalem shrine.
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