Feb. 20 (UPI) — Three buses have been blown up by explosives in the Israeli city of Bat Yam south of Tel Aviv in a suspected terrorist attack, police announced Thursday. Officers are searching for suspects and additional bombs.
Aryeh Doron, an Israeli police spokesperson, called the event “ongoing” and said officers are trying to determine whether there are more explosives in Tel Aviv, the BBC reported. Explosive devices planted in two other buses failed to detonate, they said, but they raised concern that there could be more bombs hidden elsewhere. The transportation department has paused travel on buses, trains and other light rail cars while officers search them.
“Our forces are still scouring the area,” Doron told Channel 12, 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 explained.
One of the unexploded devices, which weighed more than 10 pounds, was tagged with a message that read “Revenge from Tulkarem” — referring to a recent Israeli military counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank, local media reported.
A Hamas military unit in the West Bank claimed responsibility for the explosions.
“The revenge of the martyrs will not be forgotten as long as the occupier remains on our land. This is a jihad of victory or martyrdom,” the Tulkarm Battalion of Hamas said in a statement.
Israel Katz, the country’s defense minister, has directed officers to increase their presence and step up pressure in refugee camps in the West Bank. Police suspect the explosive devices originated there.
“The explosive devices were found with timers. I can say they were crude; they appear to be from the West Bank,” Chaim Sargrof, a district police commander in Tel Aviv, told local media.
“This is an incident occurring simultaneously at multiple locations, Sargrof added. “As of now, searches on trains and buses have been completed, and we are working to determine how many suspects are involved.”
Police have not reported any casualties as a result of the explosions.
