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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered an “intensive operation against centers of terrorism” in the occupied West Bank, his office said, after three buses exploded in central Israel without causing any reported injuries. Three devices detonated on buses in the city of Bat Yam on Thursday evening and two others were being defused, according to police, with Israel’s defence minister accusing “Palestinian terrorist” groups of being behind the blasts.Netanyahu’s office said on social media early Friday that he had completed a security assessment with top officials, ordering fresh counterterrorism operations as well as stepped up security in Israeli cities. “The Prime Minister has ordered the IDF (military) to carry out an intensive operation against centers of terrorism in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu’s office said on X, using the biblical term for the West Bank. “The Prime Minister also ordered the Israel Police and the ISA (internal security agency) to increase preventative activity against additional attacks in Israeli cities,” he added. A large number of police were deployed to search for suspects after the “suspected terror attack”, the police force said in a statement.”Police bomb disposal units are scanning for additional suspicious objects. We urge the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items,” it added.Tzvika Brot, the mayor of Bat Yam, said in a video statement that there were “no injured in these incidents”.Security forces and bomb disposal units were seen by an AFP journalist as they inspected the remains of destroyed buses.Israeli media said that bus drivers countrywide had been asked to stop and inspect their vehicles for additional explosive devices.- ‘Intensify’ West Bank raids -A police commander from central Israel, Haim Sargarof, said in a televised briefing that the devices used to set off the blasts were similar to those found in the West Bank.Separately, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he ordered the military to “intensify operations to thwart terrorism” in West Bank refugee camps, particularly Tulkarem.The military has been carrying out near-daily raids in West Bank cities and camps for several weeks now targeting Palestinian militants.Multiple Palestinian civilians have also been killed in the raids, while Israeli security forces have destroyed homes and infrastructure.The military operation has displaced more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations.Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has escalated since the October 2023 outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip.At least 897 Palestinians including militants have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.At least 32 Israelis, including some soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or confrontations during Israeli operations in the West Bank over the same period, according to official Israeli figures.

Japanese inflation accelerated in January, further pressuring households as prices excluding fresh food rose 3.2 percent on-year, government data showed Friday.The rate was the highest since June 2023, fuelling speculation over the timing of the Bank of Japan’s next interest rate hike as it retreats from years of aggressive monetary easing to boost the moribund …

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Israel said Friday that one of the bodies returned from Gaza is not that of Shiri Bibas, as claimed by Hamas, and accused Palestinian “terrorists” of killing her two boys who have become symbols of the hostages’ ordeal.Thousands of mourning Israelis had observed a moment of silence Thursday in honour of four dead hostages returned by Hamas, the first handover of bodies under the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.Hamas said the remains included those of Bibas and her two young sons, whose father was released by the militant group this month.On Friday, however, Israel said the body purporting to be Shiri Bibas’s did not belong to her and “does not match any other kidnapped individuals”.Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram that Israel had identified the remains of Bibas boys Ariel and Kfir, accusing Palestinian “terrorists” of killing them. “According to the assessment of the relevant authorities and based on available intelligence and diagnostic indicators, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally killed in captivity in November 2023 by Palestinian terrorists,” Adraee said. Hamas has long maintained an Israeli air strike killed the Bibas family early in the war.Hamas also handed over the body of a fourth hostage, Oded Lifshitz, a veteran journalist and long-time defender of Palestinian rights.The bodies’ repatriation is part of the six-week initial phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on January 19 and so far has led to the release of 19 living Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.- Bus blasts -Palestinian militants on Thursday staged a ceremony to return the bodies at a former cemetery in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis.Ahead of the handover, Hamas and members of other armed Palestinian groups displayed four black coffins with small photos of the deceased, while mock-up missiles nearby carried the message: “They were killed by USA bombs,” a reference to Israel’s top military supplier. “We are all enraged at the monsters of Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said in a video message, vowing again to destroy the group. At around the same time as the handover, police in central Israel reported a “suspected terror attack”, saying three bombs had exploded on or around buses and more were being defused, though no injuries were immediately reported.”These are identical explosive devices with a timer,” a police spokesman told AFP.Security forces and bomb disposal units were seen by an AFP journalist as they inspected the remains of destroyed buses.Some Israeli media outlets reported bus drivers countrywide had been asked to stop and inspect their vehicles for other devices.Large numbers of police had been deployed to search for suspects, the police statement said.Defence Minister Israel Katz said that following the “serious attempted attacks”, he had ordered the military to “intensify operations” in the Tulkarem refugee camp and other areas of the occupied West Bank.- The youngest hostage -Earlier Thursday, flag-waving Israelis had lined the route along which a convoy carrying the returned bodies travelled from southern Israel to Tel Aviv.Tania Coen Uzzielli, 59, who had come to the Tel Aviv plaza dubbed “Hostages Square”, said it was “one of the hardest days, I think, since October 7”.During their attack that day in 2023 that triggered the Gaza war, Hamas filmed and later broadcast footage showing the Bibas family’s abduction from their home near the Gaza border.Ariel was then aged four, while Kfir was the youngest hostage at just nine months old. Yarden Bibas, the boys’ father and Shiri’s husband, was abducted separately and released in a previous hostage-prisoner swap on February 1.Hamas said in a statement that it and its armed wing had done “everything in their power to protect the prisoners (hostages) and preserve their lives”.Tahani Fayad, 40, was among the hundreds of people gathered to witness the handover ceremony in Gaza, which she called “proof that the occupation (Israel) will not defeat us”.- Next phase -Israel and Hamas announced a deal earlier this week for the return of eight hostages’ remains in two groups this week and next, as well as the release of the six living Israeli captives on Saturday.Palestinian prisoners are also set to be freed in Saturday’s swap, but were not part of Thursday’s handover.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has said talks will begin this week on the truce’s second phase, aiming to lay out a more permanent end to the war.A Hamas spokesman on Thursday accused Netanyahu of “procrastinating regarding the second phase”, saying the group was “ready to engage”.Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP on Wednesday that Hamas was ready to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during phase two.Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attack. Prior to Thursday’s handover, there were 70 hostages still in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military has said are dead.That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Israeli police said that bombs on three buses exploded in the central city of Bat Yam on Thursday evening, with a local official saying there were no injuries.Defence Minister Israel Katz accused “Palestinian terrorist organisations” of carrying out the blasts, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold a security meeting.”Preliminary report – Suspected terror attack. Multiple reports have been received of explosions involving several buses at different locations in Bat Yam,” the police said in a statement. Three devices exploded on buses while two were being defused, a police spokesman told AFP.A large number of police were deployed to search for suspects, the police statement said.”Police bomb disposal units are scanning for additional suspicious objects. We urge the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items,” it added.Tzvika Brot, the mayor of Bat Yam, said in a video statement that there were “no injured in these incidents”.Television footage aired by some Israeli networks showed a completely burnt-out bus and another that was on fire.Israeli media said that bus drivers countrywide had been asked to stop and inspect their vehicles for additional explosive devices.- ‘Very serious’ -A police commander from central Israel, Haim Sargarof said in a televised breifing that the devices used to set off the blasts were similar to those found in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Following the blasts, Netanyahu was set to hold a security meeting, his office said.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been receiving ongoing updates from his military secretary on the IED (improvised-explosive-device) incidents in the Dan (central) area and will soon hold a security assessment,” the office said in a statement.An official in the prime minister’s office said Netanyahu “views the placing of explosives on buses as a very serious incident and will order decisive action against terror elements in the West Bank”.In a separate statement, Katz said he had ordered the military to step up its offensives across the occupied territory, particularly in refugee camps.”In light of the serious attempted attacks in the Gush Dan (central) area by Palestinian terrorist organisations against the civilian population in Israel, I have instructed the IDF (military) to intensify operations to thwart terrorism in the Tulkarem refugee camp and in all the refugee camps in Judea and Samaria,” Katz said in a statement, using the biblical term for the West Bank.The military has been carrying out near-daily raids in several West Bank cities and camps for several weeks now targeting Palestinian militants.Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has escalated since the October 2023 outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip.At least 897 Palestinians including militants have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.At least 32 Israelis, including some soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or confrontations during Israeli operations in the West Bank over the same period, according to official Israeli figures.

Global stock markets mostly fell on Thursday and gold hit a record high as traders fretted over the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a pivot in Washington’s policy on Ukraine.Wall Street indices fell after retail behemoth Walmart issued a lackluster forecast. Shares of Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase fell three percent …

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Thousands of mourning Israelis observed a moment of silence Thursday in honour of four dead hostages returned by Hamas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denouncing the group as “monsters” for staging a public handover of their bodies in Gaza.Hamas said the remains included those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, who for many Israelis had come to symbolise the hostages’ ordeal since their abduction on October 7, 2023.It was the first handover of bodies under the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, prompting scenes that were in sharp contrast to the ones of collective relief that accompanied past releases of living hostages.A crowd gathered in the Tel Aviv plaza dubbed “Hostages Square” Thursday night for a rally in solidarity with the families of the dead hostages.Attendees bowed their heads and choked back tears as they observed a minute of silence in memory of the deceased.At around the same time, police in central Israel reported a “suspected terror attack”, saying three bombs had exploded on or around buses and more were being defused, though no injuries were immediately reported.Earlier in the day, Palestinian militants staged a ceremony to return the bodies of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas, as well as a fourth hostage, Oded Lifshitz, at a former cemetery in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis.Ahead of the handover, Hamas and members of other armed Palestinian groups displayed four black coffins on a stage.  Each casket bore a small photo of the deceased, while mock-up missiles nearby carried the message: “They were killed by USA bombs,” a reference to Israel’s top military supplier.Hamas said an Israeli air strike killed the Bibas family early in the war, but Israel has never confirmed the claim. “We are all enraged at the monsters of Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said in a video message, vowing again to destroy the group. The United Nations also slammed what it called the “abhorrent and cruel” staging of the event.The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has facilitated the hostage and prisoner releases so far, called for handovers of bodies “to be done privately out of utmost respect for the deceased and those left grieving”.- Bus blasts -Israeli police said Thursday evening three bombs had detonated and two were being disabled at separate locations after blasts rocked the central city of Bat Yam.”These are identical explosive devices with a timer,” a police spokesman told AFP.Television footage aired by some Israeli networks showed burnt and burning buses, while some outlets reported bus drivers countrywide had been asked to stop and inspect their vehicles for other devices.Large numbers of police had been deployed to search for suspects, the police statement said.Defence Minister Israel Katz said that following the “serious attempted attacks”, he had “instructed the IDF (military) to intensify operations to thwart terrorism in the Tulkarem refugee camp and in all the refugee camps in Judea and Samaria”, using the biblical term for the occupied West Bank.- The youngest hostage -Earlier in the day, flag-waving Israelis had lined the route along which a convoy carrying the hostages’ bodies travelled from southern Israel to Tel Aviv.Tania Coen Uzzielli, 59, who had come to Hostages Square early, said it was “one of the hardest days, I think, since October 7”.The National Institute of Forensic Medicine, where the bodies were taken, confirmed that Lifshitz — 83 at the time of his capture and a veteran journalist and peace activist — was among those handed over. It did not confirm the identities of the other three, however, saying on Thursday evening that it “continues the identification process”.During their October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war, Hamas filmed and later broadcast footage showing the Bibas family’s abduction from their home near the Gaza border.Ariel was then aged four, while Kfir was the youngest hostage at just nine months old. Yarden Bibas, the boys’ father and Shiri’s husband, was abducted separately and released in a previous hostage-prisoner swap on February 1.Hamas said in a statement that it and its armed wing had done “everything in their power to protect the prisoners (hostages) and preserve their lives”.Tahani Fayad, 40, was among the hundreds of people gathered to witness the handover ceremony in Gaza, which she called “proof that the occupation will not defeat us”.- Next phase -The bodies’ repatriation is part of the six-week initial phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on January 19.Under the first phase, militants have so far freed 19 living Israeli hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.Of the remaining 14 Gaza hostages eligible for release under phase one, Israel says eight are dead.Israel and Hamas announced a deal earlier this week for the return of the eight hostages’ remains in two groups this week and next, as well as the release of the six living Israeli captives on Saturday.Palestinian prisoners are also set to be freed in Saturday’s swap, but were not part of Thursday’s handover.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has said talks will begin this week on the truce’s second phase, aiming to lay out a more permanent end to the war.A Hamas spokesman on Thursday accused Netanyahu of “procrastinating regarding the second phase”, saying the group was “ready to engage”.Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP on Wednesday that Hamas was ready to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during phase two.Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attack. Prior to Thursday’s handover, there were 70 hostages still in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.