Revelers dancing and singing through the streets of Jerusalem during the holy city's annual gay pride parade were left shrieking in pain and panic on Thursday night after an anti-gay extremist lunged into a group leading the march and stabbed six people, Israeli police and witnesses said.

Police said the attacker, Yishai Schlissel, who was arrested at the scene of Thursday's attack, had been released from prison just three weeks ago after serving a sentence for stabbing several people at the parade in 2005.

Six people were wounded in the attack, two of them seriously, said Eli Bin of Israel's emergency service.