AS MANY AS 30 people have been injured – with heavy loss of life feared – after an explosion in Jerusalem this lunchtime.

The incident occurred when a bus exploded near the main entrance to the Israeli capital.

The Haaretz news service said the bomb had been tied to a telephone poll at the bus stop, situated just outside the city’s busy International Convention Centre, and had been detonated at around 1pm Irish time.

At least 25 people have been wounded by the attack, which impacted directly on two buses, it added. Four of the parties had received serious injuries.

Israel’s Ynet News, describing the explosion as a ‘terror attack’, said that another explosive device had been found nearby.

AP, at the scene, reported many injuries with people lying on the ground and being taken away on stretchers.

An AFP corespondent at the scene, meanwhile, reported many cars and buses with shattered windows and saw many people lying on the ground with major wounds.

Reuters later cited police on the ground as suggesting there could be ‘dozens’ of casualties.

If the reports of the explosion on a bus prove accurate, the attack would be first bus bombing in the region since 2004.

The attack comes amid rising tensions between Israel and the Palestinian militants based in the Gaza strip.