Tel Aviv shooting: Manhunt under way for gunman who killed two

Israeli security forces are on 24-hour patrols of Tel Aviv.

The attack, which targeted a bar on Dizengoff Street in central Tel Aviv, took place at 3:00 pm local time on Friday afternoon, Micky Rosenfeld, Israeli police spokesman, told Al Jazeera by telephone.

They issued a gag order on the investigation, as well as the one into the death of an Arab Israeli taxi driver found shot in north Tel Aviv a short while after the shooting rampage.

School trips and activities were set to continue as scheduled, the municipality announced.

Prime Minister Netanyahu used Friday’s attack in Tel Aviv as an opportunity for incitement.

However, Huldai expressed his empathy toward anxious parents in light of the existing tensions.

That figure does not include the two Israelis killed Friday by an Arab man in a shooting attack on a Tel Aviv restaurant, as the motive for the attack hasn’t officially been determined yet. It said that Israeli police and special forces were going house to house in the area, searching for the gunman.

His father, a volunteer policeman, called police after seeing security camera footage of the attack on television and recognizing his son. Two more victims underwent emergency surgery and remain in serious condition, while five others were also injured and remain in hospital.

“This is an extreme, complex and unique event in which an armed individual embarked on an indiscriminate killing spree in the heart of a busy street”, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said, alluding to the fact that the case may differ from recent attacks by Palestinian militants against Israelis.

“It reminds me a lot of what happened in Paris, people had come here to have fun but were killed enjoying themselves”, said Dalit Yacobovitch, who lives on a nearby street.

Israeli leaders say Islamist groups who call for the destruction of Israel have played a major role in inciting the violence.

Fear is mounting in Israel over a possible Islamic State group attack after an audio message, purported to be from the group, surfaced on social media last week threatened to strike at Israel “soon”.

“I appreciate the condemnations of the crime from the Arab sector; I must say I expect all Arab members of parliament, without exception, to condemn the murder”, the premier said. “Whoever wants to be Israeli must be fully Israeli – both in rights and in obligations”.

Palestinian officials, meanwhile, have claimed Israeli authorities have repeatedly gone too far, saying that Israeli forces killed more than 80 Palestinians in the same period, a figure that includes protesters who died in clashes, as well as alleged attacks.