Three Israelis killed in stabbing attack near Tel Aviv

The stabbing on Thursday night, coming on Israel's Independence Day, was the latest in a string of deadly attacks in Israeli cities in recent weeks.

A pair of Palestinian attackers went on a stabbing rampage in a town near Tel Aviv, killing at least three people and wounding four others before fleeing in a vehicle, Israeli authorities said.

Police launched a massive search for the assailants, setting up roadblocks and dispatching a helicopter. The stabbing on Thursday night, coming on Israel's Independence Day, was the latest in a string of deadly attacks in Israeli cities in recent weeks.

"We will get our hands on the terrorists and their supportive environment, and they will pay the price," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said after huddling with senior security officials late Thursday.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have soared recently, with the attacks in Israel, military operations in the occupied West Bank and violence at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site. The site, home to the Al Aqsa Mosque, was the scene of new unrest earlier Thursday.

Alon Rizkan, a medic with Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service, described a "very difficult call" when he arrived at the scene in Elad, an ultra-Orthodox town near Tel Aviv. He said he identified three dead people at various locations. At least four others were wounded, one critically, officials said.

Israeli media quoted police as saying there were two assailants, and just before midnight, police said they were still searching for the attackers. They called on the public to avoid the area, and urged people to report suspicious vehicles or people to them.

Israel marked its Independence Day on Thursday, a festive national holiday in which people typically hold barbecues and attend air shows.