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Hamas Claims Responsibility For August 18 Attempted Suicide Bombing In Tel Aviv
On August 19, 2024, Hamas' military wing, the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, published a statement claiming that the group was behind the previous day's "martyrdom-seeking operation" in Tel Aviv, in collaboration with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Israeli media reported that a man was killed by the premature detonation of an explosive device he was carrying.
The statement vowed that "martyrdom-seeking operations" in the "occupied interior" would "return to the front" as long as "the occupation's massacres, displacement of civilians, and policy of assassinations" continued.
Gaza-Based Jihadi Cleric Calls To Resume Suicide Operations Against Israel
On the same day, Gaza-based jihadi cleric Na'il Bin Ghazi published three posts on Telegram addressing suicide attacks against Israel. Calling to resume "operations deep inside the occupied interior, using [explosive] belts of broad killing," Bin Ghazi asserted: "What can the world's countries do with one knocking on the door of Paradise, wearing a belt around his waist?" He asked Allah to have mercy on the perpetrator of the Tel Aviv attack and accept him as a martyr.
Bin Ghazi claimed that the suspension of "[suicide] operations deep inside our occupied territories" resulted from a "political decision that had its own context." He asserted that the Tel Aviv attack marked a "new series of operations in a new political context," aimed at putting pressure on the "enemy," narrowing its operating space, and exposing its leaders to their public.
Declaring that the "Gaza battle" would expand to "every inch" of the "occupied territories," Bin Ghazi stated: "The one who set fire to Gaza will inevitably realize that the fire will reach every café, bus stop, and nightclub." He added that the "battle" is facing a "new, important turning point," explaining that in the face of a young man seeking to die, the "occupier" can only surrender, "willingly or unwillingly."
Bin Ghazi praised the 2001 Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing in Jerusalem, and claimed that the bomber foresaw the number of casualties the night before the attack. He lauded suicide bombers, declaring them "successors of the predecessors" and the "jewel in the crown" of Muslims.
On August 19, the pro-Hamas "Al-Mutared" Telegram channel published posters encouraging suicide attacks against Israel.
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