A branch of Hamas in the occupied West Bank purportedly claimed credit for a series of bus bombings near Tel Aviv on Thursday, marking an escalation in the conflict weeks after Israel launched a significant military operation across the northern West Bank.
A Telegram channel claiming to represent Hamas’ armed brigade in the West Bank city of Tulkarm posted a message Thursday evening that stated, “The revenge of the martyrs will not be forgotten as long as the occupier is present on our land. This is a jihad of victory or martyrdom.”
Israeli media reported at around 9:00 p.m. local time (2:00 p.m. ET) that three empty buses had exploded in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, and two other bombs were found in the central city of Holon before they went off. Israeli police ordered public transport operators to search for more bombs and began a manhunt for the suspects. There were no injuries, per the reports.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to intensify operations in the West Bank in response to the incident.
“I have instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of its operations to thwart terror in the Tulkarm refugee camp and in the refugee camps in Judea and Samaria in general,” he said in a statement, adding that armed groups there are the “front line for the Iranian axis of evil.”