The stabbing suspect, from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was “neutralised” by a police officer who arrived at the scene, the force said in a statement without elaborating.
The Shamir Medical Centre said the assailant was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital near Holon in a critical condition.
A 66-year-old woman and a man aged around 80 were badly wounded and died from their injuries shortly after the attack, the Wolfson hospital in the city said.
Israeli news website Ynet said the pair, whose ages Magen David Adom earlier gave as 70, were married.
Two other men were wounded, the emergency service said.
A 68-year-old was in serious condition and a 26-year-old was moderately wounded.
“This was a complex and difficult terrorist attack, with the victims located in three different places, around 500m from each other,” Magen David Adom said.
Regional tensions have soared as Iran and the Middle East armed groups it backs threatened retaliation for the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, which they blame on Israel, and an Israeli strike in Beirut hours earlier that killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the scene of Sunday’s attack, where he told journalists: “Our war is not only against Iran but also here in the streets”.
“This is why we have armed the Israeli population with more than 150,000 gun permits,” said the far-right politician who has loosened gun laws and repeatedly called on ordinary Israelis to carry arms.
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