Three empty buses explode in Israel in 'possible terror attack', police say

BarcelonaIsraeli police are investigating the near-simultaneous explosion of three buses in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. Initial reports suggest the vehicles exploded in a car park and there were no people inside, so there are no casualties. However, authorities have said they have found explosives in two other buses and are investigating a sixth, which did not explode, in other nearby car parks. For this reason, Tel Aviv police are investigating - and describing - the incident as a "possible terrorist attack" and "a large police deployment has been deployed at the scene" in "search of suspects". The population has also been asked to avoid this area.

Police are searching for a person who was caught on camera fleeing the area towards the tram, which has stopped services as a precaution. Some images spread on social media show one of the buses completely on fire, moments after the explosion. Others saw large plumes of smoke rising from the site of the incident. Local media reported that the message on the explosives, in Hebrew and Arabic, was: "Revenge from Tulkarem," one of the West Bank towns where Israeli troops have penetrated. Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the "increase in intensity" of the macro-operation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement explaining that the president has been receiving continuous updates from his military secretary on the incidents and that he will "shortly conduct a security assessment." Transport Minister Miri Regev has called for all buses and trains in the country to be halted while checks are carried out for explosive devices.

The explosions come amid a fragile ceasefire in Gaza and a broad Israeli offensive in the West Bank. Despite the absence of injuries (the buses were empty, in nearby parking lots), this is an exceptional event in the last two decades, since the end of the Second Intifada in 2005.