The bus was reportedly passing the military headquarters in the city at the time of the blast.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Ofir Gendelman said on his Twitter account that the explosion was caused by a bomb and that it was a “terrorist attack”.
Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said: “Hamas blesses the attack in Tel Aviv and sees it as a natural response to the Israeli massacres… in Gaza.”
Police believe a bomb was planted on the bus and they are still searching for a suspect.
Huge blasts were heard shortly afterwards in Gaza, in what appears to be an Israeli strike on the football stadium, reports the BBC.
According to Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs, the last bomb attack in Tel Aviv was in April 2006, when a suicide bombing on a restaurant killed 11.
As many as 139 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed in the violent conflict which is now in its eighth day.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon are in the region to hold talks in an attempt to resolve the escalating conflict.
Image via Getty
