Three wounded in Tel Aviv terror attack after protests

One of the victims is in critical condition, while the other two sustained serious and moderate wounds.

Three people were wounded in a shooting towards a central Tel Aviv restaurant on Thursday night, emergency services report. The victims - all in their twenties - are in critical, serious and moderate conditions.

The shooting came after a 'Day of Disruption' which had brought thousands of Israelis onto the streets.

Tel Aviv district police commander Ami Eshed said police had shot and killed the assailant at the scene and are currently looking for other connected suspects. Eshed added that since the shooting, all the anti-government protests have dispersed.

An off-duty police officer sitting at a bar across the street shot the assailant, who according to security sources had entered Israeli illegally.

The assailant that was shot dead was a Palestinian identified as 23-year-old Moataz Khawajeh from the West Bank town of Ni'lin, near Ramallah. Security sources told Haaretz that Khawajeh was affiliated with Hamas and had spent time in Israeli prison for previous security offenses.

The Hamas terror group said Khawaja, was a member of its military wing. Hamas says the attack came as a “natural response” to recent deadly Israeli military raids in the West Bank.

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Three Wounded in Terror Attack in Central Tel Aviv, Suspected Assailant Shot Dead (Haaretz)