Three people were shot and wounded in Tel Aviv Thursday night, including one who was critically injured, in a suspected terror attack by a Palestinian gunman. 

The gunman was identified as 23-year-old Mutaz Salah al-Khawaja, a Palestinian from the West Bank town of Ni’lin. According to both Israeli and Palestinian media reports, Khawaja was a member of Hamas and had twice been jailed in Israel. Following the identification of the gunman, Israeli security forces entered into Ni'lin, to search for possible accomplices. 

According to Israeli medical services, the three wounded were shot next to a cafe on the corner of Dizengoff Street and Ben Gurion Street at the center/north of the city. After shooting at the cafe, the gunman fled the scene while shooting at other people in the area. He was then shot dead in a shootout with two police officers. Two people in shock after witnessing the attack were also evacuated to a nearby hospital. 

Thousands of demonstrators were still rallying in different spots in Tel Aviv when the attack took place, as part of the protest day staged across Israel since this morning by opponents of the government’s judicial overhaul plan. Upon receiving news of the shooting attack, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai called on protesters throughout the city to clear the streets to allow police to secure the area.