Israeli police said that bombs on three buses exploded in the city of Bat Yam south of Tel Aviv on Thursday evening local time, with an official saying that there were no injuries.
Defence Minister Israel Katz accused “Palestinian terrorist organisations” of carrying out the blasts while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold a security meeting.
“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.
“These are identical explosive devices with a timer. Three have detonated, and two additional ones have been located and are currently being neutralised,” a police spokesperson told AFP.
Israeli police said they were searching for suspects.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on
Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Tzvika Brot, the mayor of the Mediterranean coastal city, said in a video statement that there were “no injured in these incidents”.
Television footage aired by some Israeli networks showed a completely burnt-out bus and another that was on fire.
Israeli media said that bus drivers countrywide had been asked to stop and inspect their vehicles for additional explosive devices.
Following the blasts, Netanyahu was set to hold a security meeting, his office said.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been receiving ongoing updates from his military secretary on the IED (improvised-explosive-device) incidents in the Dan (central) area and will soon hold a security assessment,” the office said in a statement.
An official in the prime minister’s office said Netanyahu “views the placing of explosives on buses as a very serious incident and will order decisive action against terror elements in the West Bank”.
Israeli media, according to the BBC, reported that one unexploded five-kilogram device carried a message saying, “Revenge from Tulkarem”.
In a separate statement, Katz said he had ordered the military to step up its offensives across the occupied territory, particularly in refugee camps, singling out Tulkarm.
Bus bombings come at critical moment
Israel said its “intensified anti-terror activity” would continue in the occupied West Bank. Israel has unleashed a ferocious assault on the northern West Bank, which has displaced over 40,000 Palestinians – more than any time since the 1967 war.
The bus bombings come at a critical moment, with Israel and Hamas set to begin talks on phase II of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Those talks are set to focus on the post-war governance of the enclave.
Reconstruction and rivalries: What to expect from Saudi Arabia’s Gaza summit
Read More »
Saudi Arabia is set to host other Arab states on Friday in Riyadh to discuss Egypt’s plan for post-war Gaza.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a pre-recorded video vowing revenge after Hamas handed over the bodies of four dead captives, including an infant and his four-year-old brother.
“Our loved ones’ blood is shouting at us from the soil and is obliging us to settle the score with the despicable murderers, and we will,” Netanyahu said.
During the event, like previous captive releases, Hamas demonstrated that its organisational and military capacities remain intact. It also drew large crowds of Palestinians.
Israel launched its ferocious assault on Gaza after the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, vowing to totally eliminate the group from power. It has not been able to do so.
Israel has killed at least 48,319 Palestinians during its bombing campaign and invasion of the enclave, the majority of whom are women and children. Thousands are still missing, maimed or orphaned.
