Several people were injured in a car ramming in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Israeli media and the Magen David Adom rescue service said.

The rescue service said that at least five people had been injured in the attack, while police said that 7 people in total had been injured.

The driver had been "neutralized" at the scene, according to police.

Israeli law enforcement said that the driver got out of the car after the ramming and attempted to stab people.

The Hamas militant group, which is listed by the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization, praised the attack as "heroic."

The group said that the attack was a "an initial response to (Israel's) crimes against our people in the Jenin camp."

Israeli media reported that the assailant was a 23-year-old man from the town of as-Samu in the occupied West Bank.

The incident comes as Israeli forces are involved in a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin and its neighboring refugee camp.

sdi/ab (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)