Hamas claims Tel Aviv blast amid cease-fire talks

Israeli authorities said the man carrying the explosive died in the attack, while one bystander was injured

(Image credit: Jack Guez / AFP via Getty Images)

published 20 August 2024

What happened

Hamas claimed responsibility for an explosion in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel to promote a U.S.-backed cease-fire deal in Gaza. Israeli authorities said the man carrying the explosive died in the attack, near the Shimon Bar Yochai synagogue, while one bystander was injured. Hamas said it carried out the "martyrdom operation" with Islamic Jihad.

"This is a decisive moment — probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire" in Gaza, Blinken said Monday between meetings with Israeli leaders. "Israel accepts the bridging proposal" from last week's international talks in Doha, designed to close the distance between Israel and Hamas, and "it's now incumbent upon Hamas to do the same."

There is an "increased urgency to reach a cease-fire deal amid fears of an escalation across the wider region," Reuters said. Israel accuses Hamas of "coordinating" Sunday's attack to "disrupt cease-fire negotiations," The Washington Post said. It was the first suicide bombing inside Israel since 2016, and Hamas said such operations "will resume prominently" as long as the war in Gaza continues.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.