Jerusalem, Jul 3 (IANS): Two Israeli men were wounded in a stabbing attack in a mall in northern Israel on Wednesday, including one in critical condition, the Israeli police said in a statement.

The police said that the stabber was shot dead at the shopping mall in the city of Karmiel in the Galilee region, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said in a statement that two men in their 20s were injured and rushed to the hospital. One of them was in critical condition and receiving emergency Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, while the other was in serious condition.

Northern District Police Chief Shuki Tahauko told reporters at the scene that the assailant acted alone and arrived at the mall by foot. One of the men he stabbed managed to shoot at him and killed him, said Tahauko.

Tahauko said the stabber was still not identified, but the state-owned Kan TV news reported that he is an Israeli citizen and resident of an Arab village near Karmiel. Most of the Arab-Israelis are descendants of Palestinians who stayed put during Israel's Independence War in 1948, known by Palestinians as "the Nakba."

Large police forces were canvassing the area, and the level of alertness was raised in Karmiel and the surrounding region, Tahauko said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack came amid spiraling violence in the region, with Israel carrying out an offensive in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against Hamas' October attack on southern Israel, and Israeli and Hezbollah forces exchanging fire along the Israeli-Lebanese border.