Three Buses Detonate in Suspected Terror Attack Near Tel Aviv
Three buses exploded near Tel Aviv in what Israeli police are investigating as a possible coordinated terror attack, according to the Israeli police.
“Preliminary report – suspected terror attack. Multiple reports have been received of explosions involving several buses at different locations in Bat Yam,” the police said in a statement.
The buses were empty and parked 500 meters apart in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, when they exploded on Thursday. No one was injured, but police found five identical bombs, two of which were defused before detonating.
Investigators suspect that the bombs were meant to go off during the busy pre-Sabbath rush on Friday. A note found near one bomb referenced Israel’s recent military operation in Tulkarm, a city in the West Bank.
Following the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an “intense operation” against “terror hubs” in the West Bank. Defense Minister Israel Katz accused “Palestinian terrorist organization” of carrying out the attacks.
Israel has repeatedly conducted raids against Palestinian militants in the West Bank since Hamas’ October 2023 attack.
Following the explosions, a group identifying itself as a branch of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, from the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem posted on Telegram: “We will never forget to take vengeance for our martyrs as long as the occupation is on our lands.”
The group did not take responsibility for the attack.
