The United States condemned a bus bombing that injured 17 people in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and undermined attempts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza, branding it a “terrorist attack.”
Police said the blast erupted as the bus passed behind the Kiriya, Israel’s sprawling defense ministry in the center of Tel Aviv.
Television images showed the bus with its windows blown out and its metal frame contorted from the force of the blast, in images reminiscent of scenes from the second Palestinian intifada between 2000 and 2005.
The attack came as Hamas-controlled Gaza was rocked by new Israeli air strikes and as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN chief Ban Ki-moon shuttled between Jerusalem and Ramallah trying to secure a ceasefire.
Just before the blast and after talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, Ban had appealed for an immediate halt to militant rocket attacks on Israel.
Clinton, upon arrival in Cairo for a series of emergency meetings, including talks with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, aimed at de-escalating the crisis, also slammed the attack.
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