Hamas claims responsibility for deadly bomb attack on Tel Aviv
Jerusalem, Aug 19: Hamas and another Palestinian group claimed responsibility on Monday for what appeared to be a failed bombing attack in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv that killed the attacker and wounded a bystander.
The blast late on Sunday came as mediators were working on a cease-fire agreement in the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The bomb appeared to have gone off before it was intended, and it was unclear whether the attacker planned to carry out a suicide attack or plant the explosives and set them off remotely.
Tel Aviv's district police commander, Deputy Commissioner Peretz Amar, told reporters the blast occurred a few metres (yards) from a synagogue filled with people at evening prayers.
The fact that the bomb appears to have gone off prematurely, outside on the street, helped avoid “a very real tragedy” that could have had many fatalities and inflicted major damage, he said.
Amar said the suspect, who was captured in security footage walking down the street wearing a large backpack, was not previously known to police and they are working to identify where he came from and if he received any additional support.
Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency said in a joint statement the blast was an attack that involved “a powerful explosive”.
In a statement on Monday, Hamas said it and the smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad group were responsible for the blast and threatened to continue attacking “as long as the occupation's massacres, displacement of civilians, and the continuation of the assassination policy continues”.
The statement appeared to refer to recent strikes attributed to Israel that have killed senior Hamas members, as well as the war in Gaza, which was ignited by Hamas' October 7 attack into Israel.
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Trump repeats claim he stopped potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan
New York/Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict and asserted that Islamabad's leadership credited him for saving millions of lives.
"We stopped a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India. And the head of Pakistan, a highly respected General, he's a Field Marshal and also the Prime Minister of Pakistan, said President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more...,” Trump said Monday.
He made these remarks at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, flanked by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“You know, eight planes were shot down. That war was starting to rage, and he actually said the other day that President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more. So we solved all these wars. The only one I haven't solved yet is Russia, Ukraine,” he said.
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Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
