Israel hotel blast 'not by militants'

JERUSALEM - An explosion inside a hotel in central Israel on Tuesday was likely not a militant attack and caused no casualties, Israeli emergency services said.

The explosion ripped through a room on an upper floot inside a hotel in the city of Bat Yam. The room, which was unoccupied at the time, was set ablaze, the Zaka emergency ambulance services said.

Attacks against Israelis by Palestinian militants have decreased in recent months since major armed factions, such as the Islamic Hamas group, agreed in February to an eight-month ceasefire by request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

- REUTERS