Gunmen dressed in suits have carried out a terror attack inTel Aviv leaving at least four people dead.

Around six other people were wounded in the shocking shooting incident, which took place at the Max Brenner restaurant in the centre of the Israeli city.

One person was in critical condition, with Israeli police describing the shooting as an apparent attack aimed against Israelis.

Some reports said one of the dead was a four-year-old girl, while other media outlets said she was in a critical condition.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

The Max Brenner restaurant was packed with diners just as the gunmen began to open fire with machine guns

CCTV footage have revealed the moment customers desperately ran for their lives to escape the gunmen, who opened fire at random with machine guns

Dressed in dark suits, the two gunmen pause to reload before executing a wounded man on the ground

Two shocked members of the public embrace each other after witnessing the horrors of the attack

Got him: A male suspect was forced to the ground and stripped of his clothes by Israeli police, fearing he might be wearing explosives

Fighting for survival: Ambulance staff desperately attend to one wounded individual from the attack

At least nine other people were wounded in the shocking shooting incident, which took place in the centre of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv

Officials have confirmed that two gunmen were involved, with one attacker was captured while the other was reportedly wounded

Officials have confirmed that two gunmen were involved, with one attacker was captured while the other was reportedly wounded.

'The terrorists who carried out the attack... are cousins from the Hebron district,' police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.

Photographs from the scene have reportedly revealed the gunmen may have used homemade machine guns, known as a Carl Gustav gun.

Israeli police are understood to be looking for a third suspect, who is believed to have fled the scene.

Police said the wounded included those sitting at a coffee shop in the complex. The assailants' weapons had been retrieved by officers, they said.

Shocking: Bloody handprints mark the walls of the Max Brenner restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel

Pictures from the scene show a gun lying discarded underneath a chair at the cafe which came under attack

The incident occurred in an area of trendy cafes and restaurants very close to the central military headquarters and Defence Ministry compound.

The attack was the first following in lull after almost daily street attacks by Palestinians against Israelis which began in October and lasted several months.

Spokeswoman Luba Samri said shooting was reported in two locations close to the popular open-air Sharona market.

Another spokeswoman, Meirav Lapidot, said initial reports showed there were 'at least two terrorists'. She said both were 'neutralised', which can mean either killed or detained.

Ms Samri said one of the attackers is being treated in hospital.

After the attacks the leader of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh took to Twitter to express his delight over the deadly shooting in Tel Aviv.

Posting from Gaza, he wrote: 'Glory and salutations to the Hebronites'. He followed the post with the victory sign emoji.

Meital Sassi told Channel 10 TV she was out with her family celebrating her son's birthday when she heard shots and 'immediately understood it was a terror attack'.

'We ran like lightning with the baby and the stroller ... I yelled at people who didn't understand what was happening to run,' she said.

Tense times: Heavy armed Israeli security forces look nervous as they stand guard on the streets in Israel

Israeli security forces and emergency personnel are seen at the site of a shooting attack at a shopping complex

The incident occurred in an area of trendy cafes and restaurants very close to the central military headquarters and Defence Ministry compound

Hospital staff have been trying to save the lives of the wounded following the deadly attack in the city

The attack has prompted the Israeli military to declare that they will revoke all permits for Palestinians to visit Israel and travel abroad during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

COGAT, an Israeli defense body, said that all 83,000 permits have been frozen for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to visit family in Israel, attend Ramadan prayers in Jerusalem or travel abroad via Israel's Tel Aviv airport.

In addition, the military says it has frozen Israeli work permits for 204 of the attackers' relatives, and is preventing Palestinians from leaving and entering the West Bank village of Yatta, home to the attackers.

The United States called it a 'cowardly' attack, while UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, immediately condemned it.

'All must reject violence and say no to terror,' he said in a statement.

'Our prayers are with the families of those killed. I am also shocked to see Hamas welcome the terror attack. Leaders must stand against violence and the incitement that fuels it, not condone it.'

A medic with United Hatzalah rescuers, in an account relayed by the rescue service, said: 'When I arrived at the scene I saw two young people who were suffering from gunshot wounds outside of a restaurant at the Sarona centre.'

Investigating: Forensic scientists examine the evidence at the scene of the horrific gun attack

The attack was the first following in lull after almost daily street attacks by Palestinians against Israelis which began in October and lasted several months

One person was in critical condition, with Israeli police describing the shooting as an apparent attack aimed against Israelis

'We treated them, as well as numerous other individuals who were suffering from shock.'

The nationalities and other details of the victims were not yet known.

A spokesman for Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai quoted him as saying 'we will not be able to put a policeman on every street corner'.

'The lone assailant can appear from any corner,' he said. 'That is the reality with which we have to live.'

The city however said in a statement it was increasing security at schools and municipal buildings.

Violence since October has killed at least 207 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Others were killed in clashes or by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

The violence has steadily declined in recent weeks, though attacks have continued to occur.