Israeli police said at least three people were killed Thursday in a knife attack in an Orthodox Jewish town east of Tel Aviv.

At least two others are believed to have suffered serious injuries.

What we know about the attack

The attack took place in the town of Elad, where the majority of its 50,000 residents are members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, known as Haredim.

Police said they suspect it was a militant attack and that the perpetrator escaped in a vehicle. Roadblocks have been set up in the area and a helicopter was combing the streets. 

"The terrorists have not yet been apprehended," added the police. 

The attack seemed to have played out at several spots in one area, according to the police.

Local media reports suggested that the attackers had used guns.

The dpa news agency reported, citing police, that one of two assailants had attacked people with an ax.

Alon Rizkan, a first responder, was quoted by the AFP news agency as describing the attack as a "complex scene."

Rizkan identified all of the dead as men in their early 40s. 

A series of deadly attacks in Israel

The attack came as Israel celebrated its independence day, a festive national holiday in which people typically hold barbecues and attend air shows.

Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said "the joy of independence day had been interrupted in an instant," condemning the "murderous attack in Elad."

There have been a series of deadly attacks in Israel in recent weeks amid rising tensions with Palestinians.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the attack appeared to be "the latest in what has been a string of despicable terrorist attacks that have rocked Israel."

Since the end of March, police said two attacks in Israel were carried out by Israeli Arabs who were supporters of the so-called "Islamic State" terrorist group. Two other attacks were carried out by Palestinians from the West Bank, according to the police.

A spokesman for the Palestinian militant group Hamas praised Thursday's attack, saying the "storming" of Al-Aqsa Mosque — the third holiest site in Islam — "can't go unpunished."

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, also sacred to Jews, has seen clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in recent weeks.

fb, nm/msh (AFP, dpa, AP)