At least three people were killed in an attack in the central Israeli city of Elad as the Jewish state marked its independence day on Thursday, medics said.

The Magen David Adom emergency response service said two others were in a serious condition after the incident, which comes following a series of deadly attacks committed by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs in recent weeks.

Two others suffered moderate or light injuries, according to the MDA, which is Israel's version of the Red Cross.

An initial statement from police gave no indication on the circumstances of the attack or identity of the perpetrators.

The majority of Elad's residents are members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, known as haredim.

Another majority haredi city, Bnei Brak, which also lies on the outskirts of the coastal city of Tel Aviv, was targeted in March.

It was one of the areas hit in the string of attacks since March 22 that, prior to Thursday's incident, had killed 15 people including an Arab-Israeli police officer and two Ukrainians, in separate attacks inside Israel.

Two of the deadly attacks were carried out in the Tel Aviv area by Palestinians.

A total of 27 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs have died during the same period, among them perpetrators of attacks and those killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.

For Palestinians, the anniversary of Israel's 1948 declaration of independence marks the Nakba, or "catastrophe", when more than 700,000 fled or were expelled during the war surrounding Israel's creation.