Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists have taken credit for the bomb blast near a Tel Aviv synagogue on Sunday — just an hour after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel and warned that the current cease-fire deal on the table may be “the last” chance for peace in the Middle East.
Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement that the terror groups executed a suicide bombing operation near the Tel Aviv temple as worshippers were gathering to pray, warning that it was just the first of many to come.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said a terrorist was carrying a backpack loaded with explosives that luckily detonated just “before he managed to reach a more heavily populated area.”
The terrorist was killed by the explosion, with only one passerby injured in the blast.
Israeli police said if the bomber had been just a few feet closer to the synagogue, “dozens could have been killed.”
Following the terrorist attack, Hamas warned that suicide bombings could be a normal tactic used against the Jewish state, suggesting it could be revenge for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the terror group’s chief who was killed by an alleged Israeli bombing in Tehran.
“The Brigades confirm that martyrdom operations inside the occupied territories will return to the forefront as long as the occupation’s massacres, the displacement of civilians, and the continuation of the policy of assassinations continue,” Hamas said in a statement.
The terrorist attack came as Blinken arrived in Israel for his ninth tour of the region since the war began on Oct. 7, with the secretary of state set to help move cease-fire and hostage exchange negotiations between the Jewish state and Hamas.
“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken told reporters Monday.
“It is time for everyone to get to yes and to not look for any excuses to say no,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted his meeting with Blinken as “positive,” but the negotiations could be complicated by the terrorist attack and promise of more bombings to come.
“This is often the way with Hamas on the eve of potential deals to create peace in this region,” Mencer said in a statement.
It’s been suggested that Iran and Hezbollah are holding off on their looming retaliatory attacks against Israel to see how the cease-fire talks proceed.
The Jewish state has warned that it will strike back against any entity that attacks Israel directly, with officials not ruling out the necessity of a two-front war if the need arises.
With Post wires
