Bomb explodes in Jerusalem, killing one and wounding 50 in "terrorist" attack (UPDATES) (VIDEO)

GlobalPost
Updated on

A woman was killed and 50 people were wounded when a bomb exploded in Jerusalem on Wednesday at a crowded bus station during rush hour, according to reports.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the bomb exploded outside Egged bus number 74 at a station opposite the Jerusalem Conference Center in downtown. 

The blast took place in "a very crowded area" with "a lot of civilians and two buses," CNN quoted Yonatan Yagadovsky, a spokesman for Israel's emergency services, as saying.

"Three to four are in critical condition," he said before the woman's death was announced, adding that two pregnant women were among those wounded.

According to Haaretz, the bomb was tied to a telephone pole. The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses, it reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed his scheduled trip to Moscow in the wake of the bombing, which police have called a "terrorist" attack.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but it came a day after Israel expressed regret over an Israeli artillery strike on Gaza that reportedly killed 5 people, including at least one child.

Israeli warplanes launched fresh air strikes in Gaza city this week in response to rocket attacks from Palestinian militants. Netanyahu had vowed decisive action against militants and suggested that future operations would not be surgical, the Telegraph reported.

"No state would tolerate ongoing rocket fire on its cities and its citizens, and the state of Israel obviously will not tolerate it," Netanyahu said in parliament following the latest escalation. 

Jerusalem has been hit by a number of terror attacks in recent years: In July 2008, a man drove a bulldozer into a bus, pedestrian and cars before he was stopped by a soldier and civilian who overtook him and then shot and killed him.

Three weeks later, another man also driving a bulldozer hit five cars, injuring 24 people, before he was shot by a civilian and a soldier.

During the second Palestinian intifada in the 1990s, Jerusalem suffered dozens of suicide bombings that targeted buses and restaurants. The last suicide bombing occurred in 2004. 

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