‘Terror attack’: Three bombs explode in central Israel bus blasts

Israeli security services reportedly believe Iran was behind the failed bus bombings in central Israel, with militants from the West Bank placing the devices around the city of Bat Yam.

Israeli security services reportedly believe Iran was behind the failed bus bombings in central Israel on Thursday night (local time), with militants from the West Bank placing the devices on buses around the city of Bat Yam.

Israel’s Maariv news website reports the Shin Bet intelligence agency had recently identified Iranian involvement in supplying weapons and training for assembling explosive devices, as well as transferring large amounts of money to the area.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to embark on a major operation in the West Bank, after three devices exploded on buses in central Israel in what security services say was a planned mass bombing attempt by Hamas. They had apparently been set to go off simultaneously during rush hour on Friday morning, but exploded prematurely.

Israeli police described the blasts as a “terror attack” as authorities desperately searched for more devices potentially planted on the country’s transport system.

Mr Netanyahu has also told police and Shin Bet to “increase preventative activities” in Israel’s cities to prevent further attacks, his office announced.

A bus bombing has just occurred in central Israel in a suspected terrorist attack.

To enact a terrorist attack on the same day they return the coffins of our murdered; it's so despicable I don't know how it wasn't obvious Hamas would do this. pic.twitter.com/cbB9cFCspz

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) February 20, 2025

Tel Aviv District police chief Haim Sargarof said the identical devices had timers and the attack “looks like something [that originated] in the West Bank.” He said the bombs appeared to be makeshift.

“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,” Mr Sargarof said

Israeli media reported the devices contained 5kg of explosives, and their timers were set to detonate simultaneously on Friday morning (local time)

This was intended to be a “strategic terrorist attack,” Channel 12 TV reported.

There were no injuries or deaths, but one of the bombs exploded just minutes after the bus had pulled into a bus station in the central city of Bat Yam and off-loaded its passengers, after a passenger spotted an unattended bag.

Mahmoud Issawi, an eyewitness, said: “I heard a big explosion, I went outside and saw a bus on fire. At first I thought it was an electric bus, but based on the strength of the explosion, it didn’t make sense. It was crazy.” .

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The burned out buses in a bus station in central Tel Aviv. Picture: Israel Fire and Rescue.

One of the undetonated bombs reportedly carried a message saying, “Revenge from Tulkarem” — a reference to a West Bank city where the IDF has recently conducted a large-scale operation.

A Telegram channel claiming to represent Hamas’s Tulkarem Battalion said in a statement: “The revenge of the martyrs will not be forgotten so long as the occupier is present on our land … This is a jihad of either victory or martyrdom.”

Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the IDF to ramp up its operations in the West Bank.

“In light of the severe terror attack attempts [in the Tel Aviv area] by Palestinian terror organisations against the civilian population in Israel, I instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of the counter-terrorism activity in the Tulkarem refugee camp, and all the refugee camps in Judea and Samaria,” he said in a statement, using the West Bank’s biblical name.

“We will hunt down the terrorists to the bitter end and destroy the terror infrastructure in the camps used as frontline posts of the Iranian evil axis,” Mr Katz said.

“Residents who give shelter to terror will pay a heavy price,” he added.

BREAKING: Two EMPTY buses just exploded in central Israel while parked. Miracoulasly no one injured.

It looks like it is a bombing attack. Other bus public bus drivers were instructed to pull over and immedialtey check their buses.

The last time something like this happened was… pic.twitter.com/ZLjhUw6j5V

— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) February 20, 2025

Earlier, Israeli police said large police forces had been deployed to search for suspects.

“Police bomb disposal units are scanning for additional suspicious objects. We urge the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items,” a spokesman said.

Tzvika Brot, the mayor of Bat Yam, said in a video statement that the explosions took place on two buses in two different parking lots.

“There are no injured in these incidents,” Mr Brot said, adding that the causes of the explosions were still unclear.

Television footage aired by some Israeli networks showed a completely burnt-out bus, while another was on fire.

Israeli media said that bus drivers countrywide had been asked to stop and inspect their own buses for additional possible explosive devices.