An attacker opened fire in a crowded restaurant district in central Tel Aviv Thursday evening killing at least two people and wounding seven others before fleeing into a dense residential area.

Israeli Police said there were “indications" it was a politically motivated attack, the fourth deadly assault in Israel in less than three weeks at a time of heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

The militant Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip praised the attack, but did not claim responsibility.

Hours after the shooting, the suspected gunman remained at large and hundreds of police officers and army special forces conducted a massive manhunt to find him.