Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv Sunday night, warning of more bombings to follow in retaliation for Israel allegedly assassinating Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil.
"Martyrdom operations within the occupied territories will return to the forefront as long as the massacres by the occupation, the displacement of civilians, and the assassination policy continue," said Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have often referred to their suicide bombings in Israel as "martyrdom operations."
The terrorist attack, which killed the bomber and wounded a bystander, comes in response to Israel's alleged assassination of Haniyeh on July 31 and after nearly a week of ceasefire negotiations led by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, which Hamas refused to join.
About an hour before the explosion, Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv to push for a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal amid growing fears of Iran and its allies escalating the Israel-Hamas war into a wider regional conflict.
The bomber targeted a synagogue where dozens of Israeli civilians were reportedly praying, but the explosive device in his backpack "exploded before he managed to reach a more heavily populated area," according to Israeli government spokesman David Mencer.
"We would have woken up to a huge disaster" if the bomb had been set off a few meters closer to the synagogue, Israeli police said.
Blinken met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and Israeli president Isaac Herzog Sunday night but has not yet publicly commented on the suicide bombing. "This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security," Blinken said.
While President Joe Biden claimed on Friday that Israel and Hamas were "closer than we've ever been" to an agreement, Hamas leaders rejected the U.S.-backed ceasefire deal on Sunday, instead accusing Netanyahu of "undermining the mediators’ efforts and prolonging the war."
Netanyahu, meanwhile, said on Sunday that Israel is "negotiating, not giving and giving," standing firm on his demands, including the immediate return of Israeli hostages.
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