In pictures: Tel Aviv blast

A Palestinian suicide bomber has struck a falafel restaurant in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

The attack took place on busy street near a bus station in the Neve Shaanan area, during the Jewish festival of Passover.

A number of people were killed, and dozens were injured in the first such attack since the militant group Hamas took over the Palestinian Authority.

Witnesses say a young man carrying a blue bag approached the restaurant and set off his bomb when a security guard asked to check his bag.

The blast devastated the restaurant, scattering personal belongings across the pavement.

Volunteers from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Zaka rescue service, in yellow vests, were at the scene to collect blood and body parts for burial.

Israel said it held the Palestinian Authority responsible, however the Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad, said it carried out the bombing.

The group identified the bomber as Sami Salim, 21, from the West Bank.

Hamas, which has been observing a ceasefire with Israel, said the attack was a legitimate response to Israeli "aggression".

However, the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the violence and described it as a terrorist act.

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