Tel Aviv blast

More than 30 people were wounded after a suicide bomber detonated himself near Tel Aviv's old central bus station Thursday afternoon.

The bomber blew himself up around 3:50 p.m. at the corner of Salomon and Neve Sha'anan streets in the south of the city.

Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. Palestinian sources told Ynet the bomber is Islamic Jihad member Sami Abd al-Hafiz Antar, 22, from Nablus.

According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, one person sustained serious wounds while the others suffered light to moderate injuries. All wounded were taken to Tel Aviv-area hospitals. Police are examining whether the relatively low number of casualties was a result of a malfunction in the explosive device.

Meanwhile, the Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigades also claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Abu-Udai, a senior al-Aqsa member told Ynet the attack in Tel Aviv "is a blessed operation that comes in response to recent Israeli assassinations, the last of which is the assassination of the Hamas commander in Tul Karem."

Abu-Udai also said the Palestinian people had a right to defend themselves against Israeli violations of the calm.

"The attack shows that the Palestinian resistance, despite all of Israel's security measures, is able to reach any place, any time, time after time," he said.

Extensive devastation was reported at the "Rosh Ha'ir" food stand, where the bomber blew himself up, but almost no damage was reported at nearby stores. Most victims of the blast were at the food stand at the time of the explosion.

Thursday's bombing marks the first attack in Israel following a month of relative quiet.

Ali Waked and Meital Yasur-Beit Or contributed to the story

Reproduced with permission: Ynetnews