A suicide bomb blast ripped through an open-air market in the Israeli coastal city of Hadera on Wednesday afternoon, killing at least five people and wounding dozens.

Among the wounded, at least one person was in critical condition, six sustained serious wounds and four were moderately injured.

The explosion went off at 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) in front of a falafel stand at a market in downtown Hadera.

Lt. Cmmdr. David Sisso confirmed that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

Meanwhile, Israeli Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra was quoted by Israel Radio as saying that the bomber was probably a woman.

The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after the blast, saying the bombing was in retaliation for the killing of its military leader Loay al-Saadi by Israeli troops in a raid in the West Bank on Sunday night.

Four to five stalls in the market were destroyed in the explosion and the Israeli security forces were attempting to clear onlookers from the scene, Israel Radio reported.

It added that all the roads out of the city, including the highway 4 between Hadera and the nearby city of Netanya, have been sealed off.

Some of the wounded were receiving the initial treatment on a nearby playing field, according to the radio.

"We are talking about a serious attack, and the number of the wounded is relatively high. The last of the wounded has been evacuated," said Yeruham Mendola, a spokesman for the rescue team at the spot.

Dr. Amir Oren, medical director at Hillel Yaffeh Medical Center in Hadera, told Israel Radio that his hospital received 20 wounded people, six of them in serious condition and four moderately injured.

Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 10 TV reported that the police were chasing a car seen fleeing the scene of the explosion.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat denounced the bombing, saying that the Palestinians always condemned suicide attacks on Israeli civilians.

"We hope that we will not allow this attack or any attack to undermine the cessation of violence between the two sides. Violence breeds more violence and we don't want to go back to this vicious cycle," he said.

It is the first Palestinian suicide bombing attack inside Israel since Aug. 28 when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to Be'er Sheva's central bus station, wounding 20 people.

The fresh bloodshed has dealt another blow to an already shaky de facto truce deal that the Palestinians and Israel reached in February.

Palestinian militant groups including Jihad have agreed to abide by the ceasefire till the end of this year.

Source: Xinhua