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Hamas and another Palestinian militant group claimed responsibility Monday for what appeared to be a failed bombing attack in Tel Aviv that killed the man carrying the bomb and wounded a bystander.
The blast, which came as mediators were working on a cease-fire agreement in the devastating Israel-Hamas war, was a stark reminder of the rash of Palestinian suicide bombings that killed hundreds of Israelis during the second intifada two decades ago. The militant groups claiming the blast said they intended to launch more.
In the explosion on Sunday night, the bomb appeared to go off before it was intended. The presumed attacker was shown in security footage walking down the street wearing a large backpack just before the explosion.
Israeli media quoted police officials as saying the intended target might have been a nearby synagogue.
In a statement Monday, Hamas’ militant wing said it and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s militant wing were responsible for the blast and threatened to continue attacking “as long as the occupation’s massacres, displacement of civilians, and the continuation of the assassination policy continues.”
Israeli police and its Shin Bet security agency said in a joint statement the blast was a terror attack that involved “a powerful explosive.” They did not identify the attacker or give a motive.
“We know that the mutilated body is not that of an innocent bystander but the one who carried the bomb,” Tel Aviv's district police commander, Deputy Commissioner Peretz Amar, said.
