Early this morning a bus was hit by a bomb in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The incident is being described as terrorist attack, coming just one day after the terrorist group Hamas discussed a possible cease fire.
A bomb exploded on a bus in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday, wounding at least 10 people in what officials said was a terrorist attack that could complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The blast shattered windows on the bus, which was driving along a tree-lined street next to Israel's huge defense ministry complex. Israel's ambulance service said three of the wounded were in a severe condition.
"This was a terrorist attack," said Ofir Gendelman, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a message on Twitter, he said police were combing the area for the person who planted the device, confirming reports that it was not a suicide attack. Israeli media said a man had been arrested.
The bombing happened on the eighth day of an Israeli offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and celebratory gunfire rang out across the Palestinian enclave when local radio stations reported news of the explosion.
Yesterday Israel remained skeptical about a truce deal with Hamas for good reason, even with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the country and with the administration putting pressure on Egypt to broker a deal.
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Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri praised the bombing, but stopped short of claiming responsibility.
"Hamas blesses the attack in Tel Aviv and sees it as a natural response to the Israeli massacres...in Gaza," he told Reuters. "Palestinian factions will resort to all means in order to protect our Palestinian civilians in the absence of a world effort to stop the Israeli aggression."
With this latest attack, Israel is much more likely to proceed with a ground invasion of Gaza, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed in hopes of reaching a diplomatic solution first.
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