Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to carry out an “intensive operation” in the West Bank after explosions on buses near Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Police reported explosions on three buses Thursday night in the city’s southern suburb of Bat Yam, according to local media. The buses were empty at the time of the blasts and no one was injured.
But Netanyahu’s office called the incident an attempt to carry out “a chain of mass bus bombings” and said it ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to take action.
“The prime minister has ordered the IDF to carry out an intensive operation against centers of terrorism in Judea and Samaria,” his office wrote on X, adding that the police and intelligence agency Shin Bet were also increasing their activities against additional incidents in Israeli cities.
Thursday’s bus explosions came amid a fragile cease-fire in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Israel, and shortly after Hamas released the remains of four dead hostages captured by the Palestinian militant group after their attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
According to local media, the police neutralized two other unexploded devices on buses nearby, each device carrying 5 kilograms of explosives. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.
The military said in a statement that it was assisting police and intelligence in the investigation, and that it would intensify “counter-terrorism operations” in the West Bank by blocking entry points in certain areas.
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