Bomb Explodes on Tel Aviv Bus

Israel calls it a terrorist attack, Hamas praises the bombing
By Liam Carnahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2012 5:25 AM CST
Updated Nov 21, 2012 7:51 AM CST
Bomb Explodes on Tel Aviv Bus
Israeli rescue workers and paramedics carry a wounded person from the site of a bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012.    (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

In a development that could thwart ceasefire hopes, a bomb exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv today, leaving 21 people wounded, al-Jazeera reports. Though most suffered only minor injuries, three are in the hospital in serious condition, according to CNN. The bus was traveling along a road that abuts Israel's defense headquarters. A rep for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the bombing "a terrorist act," as did Hillary Clinton, while a spokesman for Hamas praised the attack "as a natural response to the Israeli massacres ... in Gaza."

What Reuters describes as "celebratory gunfire" sounded in Gaza City, and while it says Hamas has not claimed responsibility, another report out of Gaza says otherwise. It appears not to have been a suicide attack—witnesses report seeing a man leave the bomb and run. Police are looking for a suspect, and Israeli media reports indicate that a man has been arrested. It's the first serious bombing in Tel Aviv since 2006. Israel, meanwhile, has continued its onslaught of airstrikes on Gaza, performing 100 strikes overnight and this morning that destroyed buildings, tunnels, and bridges. (More Gaza stories.)

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