"We think that this operation ... is a direct result of the policy of the occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people," said Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.

Wounded Israeli civilians get first aid, following a suicide attack at Tel Aviv's old central bus station
Wounded Israeli civilians get first aid, following a suicide attack at Tel Aviv's old central bus station April 17, 2006. A suspected Palestinian suicide bomber killed seven people at a sandwich stand in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Monday and wounded dozens more, medics said. [Reuters]

Earlier, Moussa abu Marzouk, a Hamas leader abroad, told Al-Jazeera television that "the Israeli side must feel what the Palestinian feels, and the Palestinian defends himself as much as he can."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the rival Fatah Party, condemned the bombing, calling it a "terrorist attack."

The bomber struck at about 1:40 p.m. at "The Mayor's Felafel" restaurant, which was targeted in a Jan. 19 attack that wounded 20 people. The restaurant is in the bustling Neve Shaanan neighborhood near Tel Aviv's central bus station, which was crowded with holiday travelers.

Police said the restaurant hired a security guard after the earlier bombing, and that guard apparently was injured in Monday's blast.

A witness, Moussa al Zidat, said the guard asked the apparent bomber to open his bag.

"I saw a young man starting to open his bag. The guard begins opening the bag, and then I heard a boom."

Witness Israel Yaakov said the blast killed a woman standing near her husband and children.

"The father was traumatized. He went into shock. He ran to the children to gather them up and the children were screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' and she wasn't answering, she was dead already ... it's a shocking scene," Yaakov said.

Another witness, 62-year-old Sonya Levy, said she had just finished shopping when the blast occurred.

"I was about to get into my car, and boom! There was an explosion. A bit of human flesh landed on my car and I started to scream," she said.

Her car was 50 yards from the explosion and its windshield was smeared with blood.

Olmert said the blast came as no surprise.

"It's not something that we didn't fear would happen, we know the terrorist organizations groups continue at every moment to look for opportunities to carry out attacks inside Israel," he said. "The security forces are deployed in every corner, every place, but we also know that there is no way we can always prevent such attacks, under all circumstances, in every case."

Police said nine people, including the bomber, were killed. Medics said nine of the injured were in serious condition.

The wounded were treated on sidewalks. One man was lying on his side, his shirt pushed up and his back covered by bandages. A bleeding woman was wheeled away on a stretcher. A dazed-looking man walked near the site, his white T-shirt splattered with blood.

The blast shattered the windshields of cars, and blew out the windows of nearby buildings. The ground was covered with glass shards and blood. The sign of the restaurant's building was blown away. Bottles and other debris were scattered up to 25 yards from the site of the blast.

While rescue crews tended to the wounded, a helicopter hovered overhead and a marksman took position on the roof of the targeted building.

Later, Israeli police stopped a car carrying three Palestinians suspected of aiding the bomber, officials said. The car, identified by witnesses at the scene of the attack, was stopped at a checkpoint on a highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, police said.

Authorities suspected the vehicle was "directly connected" to the attack, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The car's three occupants were detained for questioning, and a bomb squad was examining the vehicle.

It was the second major Passover bombing in four years. In 2002, a Palestinian bomber blew himself up at a hotel in the coastal town of Netanya, killing 29 people. That attack triggered a major Israeli military offensive.

Palestinian militants have carried out nine suicide attacks in Israel and the West Bank since a Feb. 8, 2005, truce declaration. All but one attack have been carried out by Islamic Jihad.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir said Israel held Hamas ultimately responsible for such attacks because it is "giving support to all the other terrorist organizations."

"From our point of view it doesn't matter if it comes from Al Aqsa, Islamic Jihad or Hamas. They all come out of the same school of terrorism led by Hamas," he said.