A SUICIDE bomber drove his car alongside a bus in northern Israel during the afternoon rush-hour yesterday, detonated his deadly cargo and killed at least 13 people as the entire bus was engulfed in flames.

A suicide bombing on a bus began a day of bloodshed that left 18 people dead and dozens injured in shootings, bombings and ambushes from northern Israel to Jerusalem and the Mediterranean coast.

A Palestinian suicide bomber devastated a bus during the morning rush today - killing himself and eight passengers on a day punctuated by violence from Galilee to Jerusalem’s Old City and the Mediterranean beachfront.

At least eight people died and more than two dozen were injured when a bomb blast ripped through a packed bus in northern Israel during the morning rush hour, police sources and doctors said.