Breaking Update 5: Tel Aviv Bus Hit by Bomb; Hamas Celebrates (593 hits)
by Reuters' Rami Amichai in Tel Aviv
(Reuters): "Celebratory gunfire rang out across Gaza as the news spread and the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas praised the bombing, but no one claimed immediate responsibility. The blast shattered windows on the bus as it drove along a tree-lined street next to Israel's huge defence ministry headquarters. Israel's ambulance service said four people suffered moderate-to-severe injuries and 11 were lightly hurt. Police said it was not a suicide attack and suggested that someone might have left the device on the number 142 bus."
--CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN chief international correspondent and ABC News global-affairs anchor, is in Cairo for an exclusive interview with Hamas' political leader Khaled Mashal. Her interview at 3 p.m. on CNN International during her daily show, "Amanpour."
--White House "Statement by the Press Secretary on the Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv": "The United States condemns today's terrorist attack on a bus in Tel Aviv. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those injured, and with the people of Israel. These attacks against innocent Israeli civilians are outrageous. The United States will stand with our Israeli allies, and provide whatever assistance is necessary to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of this attack.
The United States reaffirms our unshakeable commitment to Israel's security and our deep friendship and solidarity with the Israeli people."
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