Feb 21 – Three buses have exploded in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, in what Israeli police say is a suspected terror attack.
Devices in two other buses failed to explode, they said, adding that “large police forces are at the scenes, searching for suspects”.
Transport Minister Miri Regevpausedall buses, trains and light rail trains in the country so that checks for explosive devices could be carried out, Israeli media reports said.
Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to carry out “an intensive operation against centres of terrorism” in the West Bank, the prime minister’s office posted on X.
There have been no reports of casualties at this stage, police said.
Footage on social media showed at least one bus on fire in a parking lot, with a large plume of smoke rising above.
Police spokesperson Aryeh Doron said officers are still trying to locate more bombs in Tel Aviv.
“Our forces are still scouring the area,” Doron told Channel 12 soon after the explosions, adding that the public must be on alert for “every suspected bag or object”.
“We may be lucky if indeed the terrorists set these timers to the wrong hour. But it’s too early to determine,” he said.
According to local media, one of the unexploded devices, weighing 5kg, carried a message saying “Revenge from Tulkarem” – referring to a recent Israeli military counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank.
In response, Netanyahu ordered operations in the West Bank. He also ordered the police and the Israel Security Agency “to increase preventative activity against additional attacks in Israeli cities”, his office said.
The Kan public broadcaster reports that Transport Minister Miri Regev has cut short her trip to Morocco and will return to Israel.
