The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad took responsibility on Monday for a bomb explosion near a synagogue in Tel Aviv, which Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence agency described as a terrorist attack.
A man carrying the bomb was killed, and a passerby was injured in the blast that occurred late Sunday, according to police reports.
In a statement, the groups vowed that their “martyrdom operations” would intensify as long as Israel’s “massacres and assassination policy” persisted, referencing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Israel has not confirmed or denied its involvement in Haniyeh’s death in the Iranian capital.
The ongoing war in Gaza, which began on October 7 last year when Hamas militants launched an attack on Israeli communities, has led to widespread destruction in Gaza, with health officials reporting over 40,000 fatalities.
The Tel Aviv bombing occurred shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel to push for a ceasefire in the 10-month-old conflict. Concerns over regional escalation have grown, with Iran threatening retaliation for Haniyeh’s assassination.
