The Hamas terror group on Monday claimed responsibility for an explosion in Tel Aviv the day before, saying it was a suicide bombing conducted as a joint operation with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and vowing further such attacks.
The claim of responsibility came hours after the police and the Shin Bet security agency confirmed that the blast was an intended terror attack.
The man behind the planned attack was walking down Lehi Road in south Tel Aviv on Sunday evening when the bomb he was carrying in his backpack detonated, killing him instantly and moderately wounding a passerby.
In the immediate aftermath of the blast, police had also been examining the possibility that it was linked to criminal or gang activity, but on Monday morning the Shin Bet and police said in a joint statement that after an initial investigation, “it can be said that this was a terror attack, with the detonation of a powerful explosive device.”
The Shin Bet said it was still working to confirm the identity of the bomber, a man in his 50s, although Hebrew media outlets reported that he was believed to be a Palestinian from the Nablus area in the West Bank.
In its statement, Hamas said that it had carried out the attack along with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad — another Gaza-based terror group — and warned that suicide bombings would continue in response to Israeli attacks.
The attack comes as Israel and Hamas are attempting to negotiate a hostage release and truce deal through intermediaries to end the Gaza war that started when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Suicide bombings in Israel have been rare since the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, when hundreds of Israelis were killed in a series of deadly bombings.
In the wake of the intifada, Israel constructed the West Bank security barrier that has been credited with helping thwart further bombing attempts.
Security camera footage showed the man, believed to be in his 50s, walking down the street with a large blue backpack on his back.
Other footage showed the moment of the explosion in the south Tel Aviv neighborhood.
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