Three buses explode in Israel in 'suspected terror attack', police say

Three empty buses have exploded on the southern edge of Tel Aviv in what Israeli police say is a "suspected terror attack".

It happened in an area where the buses were parked in the city of Bat Yam on Thursday night. There were no casualties.

Devices on two other buses failed to explode, police said. Local media reported that one of these carried a message referring to "revenge" for a recent Israeli raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli military to carry out "an intensive operation against centres of terrorism" in the West Bank in response.

Footage on social media showed at least one bus on fire, with a large plume of smoke rising above.

Speaking shortly after the explosions, police spokesperson Aryeh Doron urged the public to be on alert for "every suspected bag or object".

"We may be lucky if indeed the terrorists set these timers to the wrong hour. But it's too early to determine," he said on Israel's Channel 12 TV.

In a separate televised briefing, police commander Haim Sargarof said the devices used to set off the blasts were similar to those previously found in the West Bank, where Israel has been carrying out months of raids against militants, AFP news agency reported.

According to local media, one of the unexploded mechanisms, weighing 5kg (11lbs), carried a message saying "Revenge from Tulkarm", an apparent reference to a recent Israeli military raid on a refugee camp in northern West Bank.

Following the explosions, the Palestinian militant group Tulkarm Brigade released a statement that said "Revenge for the martyrs will not be forgotten as long as the occupier sits on our land", Israeli news site Haaretz reported. The statement did not claim responsibility for the attack.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been carrying out operations against Palestinian militant groups in the West Bank for months, especially focusing around Tulkarm and Jenin in the north.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified their raids.