Attempted terror attack unfolding in the centre of the State of Israel: Did Hamas try to recreate the October 7th surprise in central Israel tonight?

This breaking news was written by Yisrael Halperin from Israel and is a developing story.

In the past hour (9pm Israel time), what could have been termed a “mega-terror attack” nearly occurred in central Israel [in the city of Bat Yam, adjacent to Tel Aviv]. Explosive devices suddenly detonated on three different buses in the city, each carrying at least 5 kg of explosives. The buses were completely burned. In an inexplicable miracle, all buses were empty of passengers. Upon understanding the situation, Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) launched a nationwide search operation, quickly discovering several additional unexploded devices. Trains were suspended by order of Transportation Minister Miri Regev until completion of security checks. Additionally, bus drivers across the country were instructed to stop and thoroughly inspect their vehicles. It appears that a strategic attack was planned in central Israel, which, for now, miraculously remains under control.
One of the discovered devices was marked “A gift from Tulkarem” – suggesting an attack directed by terror factions from the West Bank city of Tulkarem. From Hamas’s congratulatory message regarding the attack, it appears they may be connected to these events. This is currently being investigated by Israeli intelligence forces.
As the magnitude of what could have occurred becomes clear, questions are rising in Israeli public discourse: Was Hamas attempting to surprise with a coordinated and strategic attack in central Israel, similar to October 7th?

Several Israeli sites have described the sequence of events as a real miracle. Some define it as divine protection. But on the other hand, this is an intelligence failure by the Israeli intelligence forces, which is somewhat reminiscent of the surprise on the morning of October 7th. And as the highly respected journalist in Israel, Amit Segal, wrote a few minutes ago: “The most difficult question: How is a squad organized to place bombs in five buses in a coordinated manner – and this is only discovered because the stopwatch was analog and broke?” The Prime Minister’s Office in response: Prime Minister Netanyahu is receiving regular updates from his military secretary on the explosive device incident in the Dan bloc, and will shortly hold a security situation assessment.

We note that the Israeli media has put forward a hypothesis on behalf of various sources, namely that the clock was set for morning hours [AM], and the error was in the clockwise direction for noon [PM].

We can assume that had the bombs had exploded in the morning, they could have caused tens of deaths, on various streets in the centre of the country, and complete chaos.

This breaking news was written by Yisrael Halperin from Israel and is a developing story.