Miracle of Zero Casualties as Israel Rocked by Bus Bombs; Plus, Shock as Hamas Sends Wrong Body

JERUSALEM, Israel – At the end of an incredibly hard day of mourning after Hamas returned four bodies of Gaza-held hostages, Israelis had to deal with a series of mass transportation terror attacks, and later, the news that one of the bodies was not who it was supposed to be.

Bombs exploded on three public buses on Thursday evening in the central Israeli cities of Bat Yam and Holon. Miraculously, no one was injured in the explosions that police believe were coordinated terror attacks, most likely carried out by Hamas.

Bomb disposal units discovered at least two other unexploded devices and were dealing with suspicious objects on public transport vehicles. The bombs had timers on them, and some believe they were intended to go off Friday morning during rush hour.

Tel Aviv District Deputy Police Commissioner Chaim Sargrof stated, “I can say that the situation is widespread. It’s happening in multiple locations (scenes)."

He added, "We are spread out with emergency squads and with police officers in a great number of locations.”

Following the attempted attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces to carry out an "intense operation" against terrorism centers in Judea and Samaria.

A Telegram channel claiming to represent Hamas in the Palestinian city of Tulkarem indicates it may have been responsible for the bombing attacks. It read, "The revenge of the martyrs will not be forgotten so long as the occupier is present on our land… This is a jihad of either victory or martyrdom."

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The explosions came at the end of a heart-wrenching day for Israel, with the presumed return of four hostage bodies: those of 83-year-old peace activist Oded Lifshitz, 32-year-old Shiri Bibas, her 9-month-old son Kfir Bibas and his 4-year-old brother Ariel. 

The IDF announced the children were brutally murdered in November 2023, a month after they were taken captive.

However, on Friday morning, Israelis awakened to yet another shock – the body that was supposed to be the boys' mother Shiri was not hers, nor that of any other hostage.

President Isaac Herzog wrote on X, "Another heartbreaking morning for Israel, and for all who care about human life, and human dignity...the bodies of Ariel and Kfir, so pure and innocent, were identified, while their beloved mother, Shiri, remains in captivity. This is a shocking and horrific violation of the ceasefire agreement, another cruel act by the terrorists of Hamas, who continue to show utter disregard for humanity."

In an interview on CNN, Adam Boehler, U.S. envoy for hostage affairs, confirmed it's a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, and he warned Hamas needs to turn over the body quickly.

Boehler said, "If I have one piece of advice for Hamas now, it’s not only you need to release her body immediately, but we have the bodies of four Americans that are still there and we have one American, Idan Alexander. He needs to come home  And if I were them, I’d release everybody or face total annihilation."

This weekend, Israel is due to receive the last six living Hamas hostages according to phase one of the agreement, followed by four more bodies next week. There will then be approximately 60 hostages left in Gaza, many of them believed to be dead.

In the U.S., the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) passed a resolution supporting Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, otherwise known as the West Bank.

Palestinians have been trying for decades to rout Israelis from the area in order to establish a Palestinian state. Many Israelis and evangelical Christians believe the Bible specifies that Judea and Samaria comprise much of the land God gave the Jewish people.