Bus explosions rock Tel Aviv – Netanyahu orders military operation in West Bank

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to launch an operation in the occupied West Bank after three empty buses exploded in what Israel is calling a terrorist attack near Tel Aviv.

There were no casualties and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, which occurred when explosive devices placed in empty vehicles were detonated with a small time difference in the cities of Bat Yam and Holon, south of Israel's financial center.

In Bat Yam, two bombs exploded in buses parked in a warehouse, authorities said. A third explosion was reported in Holon, from an explosive device placed on a third bus. Photos from Bat Yam show two burned buses in the warehouse and forensic experts working at the scene, the report said. cnn.

Read too Three buses explode in Tel Aviv, Israel, in suspected terrorist attack - footage from the scene

Meanwhile, an unexploded explosive device was found on a fourth bus, police said.

Israel has tightened security measures and suspended bus and train traffic nationwide after the explosions, which a statement from the prime minister's office called "an attempt to carry out a series of massive bomb attacks on buses."

After a meeting with the defense minister, the head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and senior security and police officials, the Israeli leader "ordered the IDF to conduct an intensive operation against centers of terrorism" in the West Bank.

Two buses simultaneously exploded in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv.

No passengers and no casualties reported. pic.twitter.com/vkX362It0I

- Clash Report (@clashreport) February 20, 2025

"The prime minister also ordered the Israeli police and (the Israel Security Agency) to strengthen preventive activities against further attacks in Israeli cities," the statement added.

The bus bombings occurred just hours after the Palestinian group Hamas handed over four dead bodies of Israeli hostages.

The troops were handed over as part of a ceasefire agreement reached last month, which has appeared shaky in recent weeks, as Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the agreement.

Israel accused Hamas on Thursday of violating the agreement after the latter handed over the mortal remains in a single coffin, which were found not to match any of the hostages.

The Israel Defense Forces launched a major campaign – “Operation Iron Wall” – focused on the northern West Bank last month, just two days after the Gaza ceasefire began, stating that the aim was to eliminate “terrorists and terrorist infrastructure” and “ensure that terrorism does not return” after its end. The operation has displaced at least 40 Palestinians from the northern West Bank, according to UN figures.

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, warned last week that the forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the northern West Bank has escalated "at an alarming rate."

The agency stated that this year alone, the West Bank has suffered 38 airstrikes, with an increasingly frequent use of advanced weapons and controlled explosions, marking a "spread of war from Gaza." /Telegraph/

There was also a third explosion in Bat Yam. https://t.co/6yix2CPcIE pic.twitter.com/59KiSSAKUb

- Clash Report (@clashreport) February 20, 2025