A bomb blast in Tel Aviv on Sunday has been confirmed as a terrorist attack, according to Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence agency.
The explosion occurred near a synagogue, killing the man who carried the bomb and injuring a passerby, police reported. “It can now be confirmed that this was a terror attack,” authorities said in a joint statement on Monday.
The attack took place shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, aiming to end the ongoing 10-month conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The urgency for a ceasefire has grown amid fears of further escalation in the region, particularly after Iran threatened retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. Israel has not claimed responsibility for his death.