Six people were killed and eight others were seriously injured in an attack by Palestinian gunmen in Jerusalem, medical experts and police said.

Israeli police said "two terrorists drove up in a car" and opened fire at a bus stop at a junction called Ramot, on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem. The gunmen, who were off duty and another person, were killed in return fire, police said.

Israeli media reported that five men, aged between 25 and 79, and a 60-year-old woman were killed in the attack. A local hospital said two people injured in the attack were in critical condition.

Nine people were taken to hospital with injuries from the attack and three others were injured by shrapnel.

While no militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, Hamas praised the attack in Jerusalem.

Police said multiple security forces cordoned off the area, and bomb disposal units determined the area was safe.