TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a fast-food restaurant in a bustling commercial area of Tel Aviv during the Passover holiday Monday, killing himself and six other people and wounding at least 35, police said.

A security guard posted outside the restaurant, the target of a previous suicide bombing earlier this year, prevented the latest bomber from entering the building, police said.

It was the first suicide attack in Israel since the Hamas militant group took over the Palestinian government 2 1/2 weeks ago.

The Islamic Jihad militant group claimed responsibility in a telephone call to The Associated Press. The attack came a day after the group had pledged to carry out more attacks.

Hamas and other militant groups have been observing a ceasefire with Israel for more than a year, though the new Hamas-led Palestinian leadership has refused to condemn attacks against Israelis.

Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for all six of the previous suicide attacks inside Israel since the ceasefire was declared.

The bomber struck a falafel restaurant targeted in an attack on Jan. 19 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 had hired a security guard after the January bombing. The guard was apparently injured in Monday’s blast.

A witness, Moussa al Zidat, said the guard asked the apparent bomber the 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.”

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

“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.

Police said seven people including the suicide 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. Glass shards and blood splattered the ground. 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 up a position on the roof of the targeted building.

A Hamas spokesman called the suicide bombing the direct result of “Israeli aggression.” But Palestinian lawmaker Saeb Erekat of the rival Fatah Party condemned the blast.

“I condemn this attack on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas. We believe this harms Palestinian interests. We urge all Palestinians to abide by the cessation of violence.”

But on Sunday, the leader of Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Shallah, said the militant group was making “nonstop efforts” to infiltrate suicide bombers from the West Bank into Israel. “The nonstop crackdown against our resistance might limit this effort, but it’s not going to stop it,” he said in a statement posted on the group’s Web site.