The Lehi Road bombing or Lehi Street bombing was an explosion in Lehi Road, in Tel Aviv on 18 August 2024, that killed the man carrying the bomb and injured a bystander (a 33 year old man). It was the first suicide bombing claimed by Hamas' Al Qassam since 2008.
| Lehi Street bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Israel–Hamas war | |
| Location | Lehi Street, Tel Aviv, State of Israel |
| Date | 18 August 2024 (Israel) |
| Target | Israeli civilians in Tel Aviv |
Attack type | Suicide bombing |
| Weapons | Explosives in a backpack |
| Deaths | 1 man in his 50s |
| Injured | 1 (33 year old man) |
| Victims | Bomber killed, one civilian injured |
| Perpetrators | Qassam Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad jointly claimed the attack. |
| Motive | Nationalism |
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad jointly claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on Lehi Street, in Tel Aviv.[1] That killed one person, the bomber (a middle aged man from Nablus), and moderately injured one civilian.[2][3][4]
The Qassam Brigades, Hamas' militant wing, announced a return to the strategy of suicide attacks in Israeli cities, which they had previously abandoned in 2006.[5][6]
History
editHamas have been widely criticized for their campaign of suicide bombings in the 1990s and early 2000s targeting crowds of civilians in Israel.
In April 2006 Hamas announced that they were ending their strategy of suicide bombings.[7] At the time Khaled Hroub – author of "Hamas: Political Thought and Practice", and Director of the Cambridge Arab Media Project – noted that even within Hamas, suicide bombing had been a controversial tactic.[7]
The Guardian reported that, "Hamas only embarked on suicide bombing campaigns as a response to extreme provocations by Israel, such as the killing of 29 Palestinians in Hebron in 1993. It had been a policy of desperation," they attributed this sentiment to Yihiyeh Musa, a Hamas politician elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council earlier thar year. In the 2006 Palestinian legislative election on 25 January 2006, Hamas' Change and Reform electoral list won the plurality of the vote and the majority of the seats. This made Ismail Haniyeh the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine and head of Government for the Palestinian National Authority.[8]
In the first few months after winning the election. Hamas said they would only use violent force within the Palestinian territories, they would not use violence against Israel, and they were willing to fee force to prevent other groups attacking Israel - such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - if the other groups did not cooperate with this plan.[7]
In the weeks before the Lehi Street bombing, Israel is thought to have assassinated two of the three top leaders of Hamas. On 31 July 2024 Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a bombing in Iran, that killed Haniyeh and his bodyguard, Israel have not officially claimed the attack but no other assailant has been credibly accused.[9]
In 2014, left wing UK news outlet Novara Media attributed the Qassam Brigades' temporary abandonment of suicide attacks to Mohammed Deif's leadership moving the Brigades towards hostage taking and rocket attacks.[10] By contrast, in 2024 pro-Israel media lobby group CAMERA held Deif personally responsible for the deaths of 80 Israeli civilians, mostly in suicide bombings, when they criticized the way BBC Arabic reported on an Israeli airstrike intended to kill Deif. The airstrike killed over 90 people, and in a biography summary that BBC Arabic aired with their report in the incident they mentioned suicide bombings attributed to Deif but used language CAMERA objected to, allegedly referring to the bombings as "military operations" when CAMERA thought they should be referred to as "terrorist attacks".[11]
Casualties
editThe only death was the bomber himself, he was described as Israeli authorities as a man in his 50s.[12] That killed one person, the bomber (a middle aged man from Nablus), and moderately injured one civilian.[13][14][15]
The injured bystander was a 33 year old man.[16] he was moderately injured.[13][14][15]
Bombing
editThe bombing occurred on the night of Sunday 18 August 2023, on Lehi Road (Hebrew: רחוב לח''י) in Gush Dan, the local name for central Tel Aviv.[17]
It was initially unclear why the bomb went off when it did.[18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Man dies in Tel Aviv blast; authorities suspect botched terror attack". Ynetnews. Ynet. 18 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ "Hamas, Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for bomb blast in Tel Aviv". Reuters. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Hamas claims attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, vows to carry out more". The Times of Israel. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Hamas claims responsibility for Tel Aviv bomb attack, promises more". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2024.
- ^ كتائب القسام تنقل المعركة إلى قلب إسرائيل وتعلن عودة العمليات الاستشهادية إلى الواجهة [Al-Qassam Brigades transfers the battle to the heart of Israel and announces the return of martyrdom operations to the forefront]. العربي - أخبار YouTube Channel of Al-Araby TV News. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ "After Tel Aviv bombing, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad threaten further attacks in Israel". 20 August 2024. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Urquhart, Conal (9 April 2006). "Hamas in call to end suicide bombings". The Observer. The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "Central Elections Commission". www.elections.ps. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "How a quadriplegic charity worker became the founder of Hamas". ABC listen. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "Radical Lives: Mohammed Deif". Novara Media. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ Sawer, Patrick; Mulholland, Lilian (24 August 2024). "BBC under fire for describing Hamas suicide bomb attacks as 'military operations'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ [vhttps://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1qtfakjc "Man dies in Tel Aviv blast; authorities suspect botched terror attack"]. Ynetnews. 18 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Hamas, Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for bomb blast in Tel Aviv". Reuters. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Hamas claims attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, vows to carry out more". The Times of Israel. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Hamas claims responsibility for Tel Aviv bomb attack, promises more". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2024.
- ^ גנות, גל; ynet, כתבי (18 August 2024). "הרוג בפיצוץ בת"א: "הוא נשא מטען, הכיוון שזה פיגוע מאוד רלוונטי"; עובר אורח נפצע בינוני". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-815228
- ^ https://www.timesofisrael.com/man-killed-in-tel-aviv-when-bomb-in-his-backpack-goes-off-police-probing-possible-terror/