One person was killed and another wounded in a shooting attack near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, a hospital said, AFP reports.

“A short time ago, two injured people from the shooting incident on Route 4 were taken to the hospital. One patient died on his way to the hospital,” the Assuta hospital said in a statement.

Police said officers were at the scene of the shooting near the Yavne South interchange, which is about 30 kilometres south of the Israeli commercial hub Tel Aviv.

“The circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation, and the motive has not yet been established,” police said in a statement.

Hamas later praised the attack, saying it was a “heroic stabbing operation” and calling “for more painful strikes against the occupation”.