On Thursday night, three empty buses exploded in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and two more additional buses were discovered in Holon. No casualties occured. There have been conflicting reports on what caused the matter, but it was largely suspected to be a narrowly averted large-scale terror attack.
Just a couple of minutes before the bomb exploded, a passenger noticed a suspicious item underneath a seat and alerted the driver, in which he notified his company, got everyone off the bus, and parked the bus. The bomb detonated shortly after the police were called.
All of the bombs had the writing “Revenge from Tulkarem” on them, referring to the Palestinian city where Israeli forces have been on the ground as part of a major ongoing counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank. A total of 15 buses were supposed to explode at 9am Friday morning, but the timer was accidentally set for 9pm. In addition to the 15 buses, five suicide bombers had planned to target the Tel Aviv light rail.
The perpetrators of the attack are still at large, although two Jewish Israelis have been arrested in connection to involvement. Public transportation returned to normal Friday after buses were halted Thursday evening.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz visited Tulkarem on Friday. As a result, IDF tanks have been deployed to the West Bank for the first time since 2002.
