Hamas Claims Responsibility For Attempted Suicide Bombing As Blinken Says Talks ‘Maybe The Last’ Chance For Ceasefire

Hamas claimed responsibility on Monday for an attempted suicide bombing in a major Israeli city on Sunday as the U.S. warned that current talks are “maybe the last” chance to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad were responsible for a bombing near a synagogue in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday night, in what Israeli intelligence described as a “terrorist attack,” according to The Times of Israel. The man carrying the bomb was killed and a passerby was injured in the explosion, police at the scene said.

Hamas said in a statement that “martyrdom operations” inside Israel would continue so long as the “occupation’s massacres and assassination policy continue,” seemingly referring to Israel’s months-long war against Hamas in Gaza, which Hamas started in October, according to Reuters.

The bombing is the latest action by Hamas against Israel in the ongoing war, which the U.S. and international community have spent months trying to end through a ceasefire agreement. Talks have proven difficult as neither Israel nor Hamas has been able to agree on the terms for a deal.

Mediators from the U.S. and Israel, alongside other Arab partners, met in Qatar for negotiations