TEL AVIVI - A suicide bomber blew himself up by a bus near Tel Aviv on Thursday after Israeli passengers stopped him boarding, killing a woman and wounding five people, Israeli police and hospital sources said.
In a separate incident, Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian teenagers in the southern Gaza
Strip early on Thursday, Palestinian officials and witnesses said.
The suicide bomber attack took place on the highway between Ramat Gan and Bnei Brek, two towns south of Israel's commercial capital, Tel Aviv.
"It was a suicide bombing. A suicide bomber tried to get on the bus, the driver noticed him and the passengers pushed him out, and then he blew himself up," a police spokesman said.
"We suddenly saw a wall of fire. We felt the blast and saw some people injured," said Aharaon, a witness.
The attack took place after days of violence in the Gaza Strip following an Israeli tank and helicopter raid on Monday in which 16 people were killed.
On Thursday, Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers patrolling the edge of the Rafah Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian witnesses and hospital officials said Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians, an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old boy.
The army said it was checking the reports. It added that one soldier was lightly injured when an armoured combat vehicle drove over an explosive device.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops shot dead two youths and wounded 18 people during clashes at the Rafah camp. The Israeli army said troops patrolling the border with Egypt returned fire when gunmen shot at them from Rafah.
Palestinians have been waging an uprising against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since September 2000, shortly after peace talks collapsed.
- REUTERS
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