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GAZA -- Hamas on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the shooting attack in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv Tuesday evening that killed at least seven people.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced its responsibility for the operation, noting that it was carried out by the two Al-Qassam fighters from the West Bank city of Hebron, Hamas said in a statement.

The fighters stabbed an Israeli soldier and seized his automatic weapon, and then carried out the operation in two different locations in the heart of Tel Aviv, the statement added.

Two men opened fire in Tel Aviv's southern suburb Tuesday evening, killing at least seven people and injuring several others, which is one of the most severe shooting attacks in the city in recent years.

The police said in a statement that the attack occurred near a light rail stop in the suburb of Jaffa, and both assailants were shot and killed at the scene.