Several buses exploded in various locations across central Israel on Thursday evening in a planned mass terror bombing attempt by Hamas-affiliated terrorists in the West Bank.
At least three bombs exploded buses in the area of Bat Yam, Israel Police said.
Police stated that no one had been injured in the incidents and that a manhunt was underway in search of the suspects. Transport Minister Miri Regev called to halt all buses, trains, and light rail trains in order to check for further possible explosive devices. Regev also cut short her visit to Morocco and will return to Israel immediately.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office sent out a statement late on Thursday, reaffirming that the prime minister is receiving ongoing updates from his military secretary regarding the situation and is expected to soon hold a security assessment.
Explosives weighing four to five kilograms were found, intending to explode on Friday morning in order to kill hundreds of civilians, the Tel Aviv Police District Commander Asst.-Ch. Haim Sargaroff updated late on Thursday evening.
“This is a large-scale incident and we are deployed to a large number of locations. We have scanned the trains and buses and are trying to understand how many suspects are involved,” Sargaroff added.
Hamas West Bank battalion appears to claim responsibility for mass bus bombings
Security officials later established that those responsible for planting the explosive devices came from “terrorist infrastructure” in West Bank refugee camps.
“The revenge of the martyrs will not be forgotten as long as the occupier is present on our land. This is a jihad of victory or martyrdom,” Hamas’s Tulkarm battalion published in a statement, hinting at responsibility for the explosions.
A passenger from one of the buses noticed a suspicious package in the back seat and brought it to the driver’s attention, Ofir Karni, CEO of Israeli bus company Dan, told Channel 12.
The driver then drove to a nearby terminal, and the passengers got off the bus. The driver conducted a scan, confirmed that the package was suspicious, removed all people to a safe distance, and called the police bomb squad, Karni added.
Just after this, the explosion occurred, according to Karni.
Police forces, bomb disposal units scan central Israel
Police said that large groups of forces were at the scene to investigate, and bomb disposal units have begun scanning the area for additional suspicious objects.
“We urge the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items,” the police warned the public in a statement.
Regev held a security assessment with various transportation officials and received updates on the incidents.
The IDF blocked entry to some areas in the West Bank, following the detonation of bombs on buses in Bat Yam on Thursday evening, the military announced.
The IDF added that the military is working in cooperation with Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel Police to investigate the incident.
Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to intensify its operations against refugee camps in Judea and Samaria in response to the explosions.
This is a developing story.
Amichai Stein, Amir Bohbot, and James Genn contributed to this report.
Jesus Christ is King
Comments are closed.