Israel wedding hall attack: Six dead

The death toll in the wedding hall attack in northern Israel has risen to six, with at least 30 people injured.

The attacked happened after a Palestinian gunman opened fire with an assault rifle.

Police earlier said the attacker threw hand grenades but witnesses and later police accounts say he opened fire with a rifle.

He was stopped before he could throw a grenade.

A Palestinian militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Shimon Asraf, one of owners of David's Palace where people were celebrating a bat mitzvah, said: "The terrorist came in the main door with an M-16 at the height of the event and started shooting everywhere."

Police commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki said people in the hall pushed the attacker outside, where he was shot by police.

The attacker had a belt of ammunition and a grenade which police at first thought held explosives for a suicide attack.

The Al Aqsa Brigades, linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah, claimed responsibility in a phone call to The Associated Press news agency.

It is the deadliest single attack in the region since Yasser Arafat announced a ceasefire on December 16.