At least three buses were bombed in Central Israel on Thursday evening in what officials believe was an attempted strategic terrorist attack.
The three buses were all empty when the bombs were detonated, reports say. Two additional bombs that failed to detonate were discovered on separate buses.
Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev ordered that all modes of public transportation — buses, trains, light rail, etc. — be halted so that officials could search for any additional bombs.
🚨🚨 Update on the massive terror attacked that failed tonight in Israel
🚨 5 explosive devices were planted on board 5 different buses in Central Israel
🚨 3 devices exploded on empty buses; 2 didn’t explode
🚨 Israeli transport minister ordered all buses, trains and light… pic.twitter.com/MS8Qz0Ndrr
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) February 20, 2025
Officials said that the bombs that were planted by the terrorists would have killed hundreds of civilians had the buses been full.
“This is a large-scale incident and we are deployed to a large number of locations,” said Tel Aviv Police District Commander Asst.-Ch. Haim Sargaroff. “We have scanned the trains and buses and are trying to understand how many suspects are involved.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that one of the buses was carrying a lot of people when one of the passengers noticed a suspicious package that was left behind and alerted the driver.
Everyone was quickly evacuated from the bus and the bomb squad was called.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it is working with Shin Bet, one of Israel’s intelligence services, and local police in investigating the attack.
The IDF has blocked entry into some areas of Judea and Samaria as it carries out intelligence gathering activities.
Two explosions were reported in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. The explosions reportedly occurred on two buses. Nobody was inside the vehicles at the time. Terrorism is suspected. pic.twitter.com/doRwo2hymN
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) February 20, 2025
