TEL AVIV SHOOTING SPREE

At least two people were killed Thursday and several wounded in a shooting spree in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, the latest in a surge of violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank since late March.

The attack sparked mayhem in Dizengoff St, a popular nightspot full of bars and restaurants.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the shooting, which came with Israeli security forces already on high alert.

But the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the Islamic Jihad welcomed the attack.

Two people were killed and four others seriously wounded, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.

“Sixteen people evacuated to hospitals, two dead, four seriously wounded,” said spokesperson Zaki Heller.