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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel’s military to conduct an operation in the West Bank after three empty buses exploded in what Israeli authorities described as a suspected terror attack near Tel Aviv on Thursday, CNN reported citing Israeli authorities.
No casualties were reported and there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, which occurred when explosive devices planted on the empty vehicles detonated in quick succession in the cities of Bat Yam and Holon. An unexploded device was discovered on a fourth bus.
Netanyahu’s office called the blasts an “attempt to perpetrate a chain of mass bus bombings.”
After meeting with the defense minister, the head of the Israel Defense Forces and top security and police officials, Netanyahu “ordered the IDF to carry out an intensive operation against centers of terrorism,” in the West Bank, CNN reported citing the statement.
“The Prime Minister also ordered the Israel Police and the (Israel Security Agency) to increase preventative activity against additional attacks in Israeli cities,” it added.
The bus blasts came just hours after Palestinian militant group Hamas returned four bodies purported to be hostages held in Gaza since its October 7, 2023 attack.