Three Israelis were believed to be among the five people killed in the suicide bombing in the centre of Istanbul on Saturday morning.

According to Turkish officials, at least 11 Israelis were among the 36 injured in the attack, two of them seriously hurt.

Israeli officials named one of the dead as Simha Damri, 60, from Dimona, who was holidaying in Istanbul. Her husband Avi was injured in the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli press that officials were investigating if Israelis had been targeted in the bombing.

Two Magen David Adom ambulance planes flew to Istanbul on Saturday evening to bring the injured back to Israel for treatment.

The attack took place in one of Istanbul's busiest shopping streets.

Turkish officials said either Kurdish groups or the Islamic State group were responsible.

Turkish media identified the suicide bomber as Savaz Yildiz, 33, from the Turkish city of Adana.

According to reports, the wounded Israelis were part of a group on a culinary tour of Turkey. Six of the wounded are thought to be Arab Israelis.

The attack follows a wave of bombings in Turkey, including a car bombing earlier this month in the capital Ankara which killed 37 people and injured 125.

A public relations official in the ruling Turkish AKP Party was sacked after tweeting that she wished death upon the Israelis wounded in the bombing.

Irem Aktas, who reportedly posted the tweet immediately after the attack, was the the head of the party’s media relations and women’s outreach department.