Israeli police said that bombs on three buses exploded in the central city of Bat Yam on Thursday evening.
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, south of Israel’s financial center.
In Bat Yam, two bombs exploded on buses parked in a depot, authorities said. A third blast was reported in Holon from an explosive device planted on a third bus.
Three devices exploded on buses while two were being defused, a police spokesman said.
A large number of police were deployed to search for suspects, the police statement said.
“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,” it added.
Tzvika Brot, the mayor of Bat Yam, said in a video statement that there were “no injured in these incidents”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel’s military to conduct an operation in the occupied West Bank after three empty buses exploded in a suspected terror attack near Tel Aviv on Thursday.
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, according to 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.
Following the bus blasts, the Israeli military said it would deploy three additional battalions to the West Bank on Friday morning.
“The IDF continues to conduct ongoing situational assessment and is prepared to expand offensive activity,” it said in a statement.
