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Lehi Street bombing

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Lehi Steet bombing
Part of the Israel-Hamas war
LocationLehi Street,
Tel Aviv, Israel
Date18 August 2024 (2024-08-18)
c. 20:00 (UTC+2)
Targetunknown
Attack type
suicide bombing
WeaponsExplosives in a backpack
Deaths1 (attacker)
Injured1 (bystander)
Perpetrators
AssailantJafar Muna
MotivePalestinian political violence

The Lehi Street bombing was a failed suicide bombing in Lehi Street (Hebrew: רחוב לח''י) in Tel Aviv, Israel, on August 18, 2024.[1][2] Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was executed in collaboration with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.[3][4] The premature detonation resulted in the death of the attacker and injuries to a 33-year-old bystander.[1]

Israeli security forces confirmed the use of a powerful explosive device and the attack's terrorist nature.[4] Following this incident, Hamas' militant wing declared a return to suicide attacks in Israeli cities, a strategy they had largely abandoned since the 2000s.[1]

The bombing occurred shortly after the arrival of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Israel–Hamas war.[4]

Background

Main article: Palestinian suicide attacks

The use of suicide bombings (Arabic: العمليات الاستشهادية, romanized: martyrdom operations) by Palestinian factions emerged in the 1990s. Between 1994 and 2005, these attacks resulted in 735 Israeli deaths and 4,554 injuries,[5] predominantly targeting Israeli civilians at locations such as shopping centers, public buses, transit stations, cafes, nightclubs, and restaurants.[6][5] The tactic peaked during the Second Intifada (2000–2005), garnering significant Palestinian support and leading to the formation of a martyrdom cult around the attackers.[7]

Suicide bombings in the 1990s and 2000s had a profound impact on Israel's civilian population,[8] significantly affecting Israeli society and hardening attitudes toward Palestinians as potential peace partners in a two-state solution.[3] These attacks influenced Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to build the West Bank barrier.[3] By 2005, Hamas shifted its strategy from suicide attacks to adopting a Hezbollah-like approach, leveraging Iranian support and smuggling routes to develop a substantial rocket arsenal, using it to attack Israeli urban centers.[9] Hamas and other groups have also shifted to other forms of violence, including shootings, stabbings, and car ramming attacks.[1]

Hamas has justified suicide bombings both practically and doctrinally. Practically, they have emphasized the harm and deterrence these attacks inflict on Israeli society. Doctrinally, they have glorified martyrdom as the highest form of jihad and Islamic belief.[10] Hamas has framed suicide attacks as a testament to "Palestinian innovative genius" and has contended that they establish a "balance of fear" by causing significant casualties and psychological distress in Israel.[10]

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. Israel have not officially claimed the attack but no other assailant has been credibly accused.[11]

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.[12] 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".[13]

Bombing

The bombing occurred on the night of Sunday 18 August 2023, on Lehi street in Tel Aviv.[14][a]

The attack was carried out by a middle-aged man carrying a full backpack, as captured by CCTV footage shortly before the explosion. The bomb detonated, killing the bomber[15] and moderately injuring a 33-year-old passerby on an electric scooter with shrapnel.[16][17][18][19] The explosion also set a truck on fire but caused relatively limited damage overall. The reason for the premature detonation remained unclear.[20]

The explosion could have resulted in many more casualties had the bomb detonated in a more crowded area, sparing nearby locations such as a synagogue and a shopping center.[4] Some sources therefore theorized that the bomb exploded prematurely, with Ynet characterizing the operation as "botched".[15]

Four days after the bombing, Hamas revealed the identity of the bomber as Jafar Muna, a resident of Nablus. According to Israeli police, Muna "had no prior criminal record".[21] On September 18, 2024 Hamas released a video of Muna's last statement.[22]

Investigation

By October 2024, Israel charged eight Hamas operatives with involvement in the bombing, with the operation directed by Abada Bilal, a senior Hamas operative in Turkey.[23]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Street named after the 1940's militant group named Lehi

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Palestinian militants claim Tel Aviv bombing that wounded 1". AP News. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Hamas Claims Attempted Suicide Bombing as Cease-Fire Diplomacy Resumes". The Wall Street Journal. 19 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Bigg, Matthew Mpoke; Sobelman, Gabby (19 August 2024). "Hamas and Islamic Jihad Claim Responsibility for Tel Aviv Bombing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Hamas claims Tel Aviv bomb explosion as suicide attack". www.bbc.com. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  5. ^ a b Kliot, Nurit; Charney, Igal (1 August 2006). "The geography of suicide terrorism in Israel". GeoJournal. 66 (4): 361, 366–367. doi:10.1007/s10708-006-9034-z. ISSN 1572-9893.
  6. ^ Pedahzur, Ami, ed. (2006). Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom. New York: Routledge. p. 42. ISBN 978-0415770309.
  7. ^ Nanninga, Pieter (2019). Islam and suicide attacks. Elements in Religion and Violence. Cambridge University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-108-71265-1.
  8. ^ Siniver, Asaf, ed. (2023). Routledge companion to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. London; New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 161–162. ISBN 978-0-429-02737-6.
  9. ^ Ganor, Boaz (2015). Global alert: the rationality of modern Islamist terrorism and the challenge to the liberal democratic world. Columbia studies in terrorism and irregular warfare. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 978-0-231-17212-7.
  10. ^ a b Litvak, Meir (15 July 2010). ""Martyrdom is Life": Jihad and Martyrdom in the Ideology of Hamas". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 33 (8): 724–725. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2010.494170. ISSN 1057-610X.
  11. ^ "How a quadriplegic charity worker became the founder of Hamas". ABC listen. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Radical Lives: Mohammed Deif". Novara Media. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Police confirms Tel Aviv explosion was failed terror attack". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 18 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Man dies in Tel Aviv blast; authorities suspect botched terror attack". Ynetnews. 18 August 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  16. ^ "הרוג בפיצוץ בת"א: "הוא נשא מטען, הכיוון שזה פיגוע מאוד רלוונטי"; עובר אורח נפצע בינוני" [Killed in an explosion in Tel Aviv (wiktionary:ת״א): "He was carrying a bomb, the fact that this is an attack is very relevant"; a bystander was moderately injured]. Ynet (in Hebrew). 18 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Hamas, Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for bomb blast in Tel Aviv". Reuters. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Hamas claims attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, vows to carry out more". The Times of Israel. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  19. ^ "Hamas claims responsibility for Tel Aviv bomb attack, promises more". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Man killed in Tel Aviv when bomb in his backpack goes off; police probing possible terror". 19 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  21. ^ Halabi, Einav (22 August 2024). "This is the Palestinian man who set off a suicide bomb in Tel Aviv". Ynet.
  22. ^ Halabi, Einav (19 September 2024). "Hamas releases psychological terror video, threatening more suicide attacks". Ynet.
  23. ^ "Tel Aviv suicide bombing attempt in August was overseen by Hamas in Turkey – police". The Times of Israel. 15 October 2024.
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