Terror attack averted on Tel Aviv bus

Israeli police were searching the Tel Aviv area for a man and woman who reportedly tried to carry out a terror attack on a bus on Dizengoff Street.

A man sitting in the back of the bus wearing a heavy coat on a hot day yelled “slaughter the Jews” in Arabic, while a woman in the front of the bus tried to prevent the frightened passengers from getting off the bus, according to reports.

A large police force, including helicopters and dogs, continued searching for the couple, who fled the scene, and for any suspicious objects throughout Wednesday afternoon.

The possible attack came shortly after Israel held a nationwide drill at 11 a.m. Wednesday in which all citizens were asked to enter their bomb shelters or protected areas at the beginning of a 90-second siren.

Gas masks also were distributed in some areas. Only 5 percent of Israelis have gas mask kits, which were collected by the army more than a year ago to be refurbished and redistributed.

Israel “is at a low level of preparedness for the chemical threat, due to the distribution of gas masks,” Col. Hilik Sofer, who heads the Home Front Command’s population division, warned Tuesday, according to Haaretz.