Israel finds 3 teenagers' bodies

Netanyahu: Hamas will pay for murder by ‘human animals’

Israeli police officers block a road with their police vehicles in the village of Halhul, near the West Bank town of Hebron, where the bodies of the three missing Israeli teenagers were found, Monday, June 30, 2014. The Israeli military found the bodies of three missing teenagers on Monday, just over two weeks after they were abducted in the West Bank, allegedly by Hamas militants. The grisly discovery culminated a feverish search that led to Israel's largest ground operation in the Palestinian territory in nearly a decade and raised fears of renewed fighting with Hamas.(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli police officers block a road with their police vehicles in the village of Halhul, near the West Bank town of Hebron, where the bodies of the three missing Israeli teenagers were found, Monday, June 30, 2014. The Israeli military found the bodies of three missing teenagers on Monday, just over two weeks after they were abducted in the West Bank, allegedly by Hamas militants. The grisly discovery culminated a feverish search that led to Israel's largest ground operation in the Palestinian territory in nearly a decade and raised fears of renewed fighting with Hamas.(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military found the bodies of three missing teenagers on Monday, just more than two weeks after they were reportedly abducted in the West Bank by Hamas militants.

The discovery ended a search that involved Israel's largest ground operation in the Palestinian territory in nearly a decade and raised fears of renewed fighting with Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed tough action. "Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay," he said in a statement, adding the teenagers "were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by human animals."

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, disappeared while hitchhiking home near the West Bank city of Boron on June 12. The teens had been studying at Jewish seminaries in the West Bank.

The military and the Shin Bet security agency announced late Monday that the bodies had been found.

"The bodies are currently going through forensic identification. The families of the abducted teens have been notified," the army said.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said the bodies were found "under a pile of rocks" near the village of Halhul, just north of Hebron.

Binyamin Proper, who was among the civilian volunteers who found the bodies, told Channel 2 TV that a member of the search party "saw something suspicious on the ground, plants that looked out of place, moved them and moved some rocks and then found the bodies. We realized it was them, and we called the army."

Israel accused Hamas of being behind the abductions and launched a frantic search throughout the West Bank, arresting nearly 400 Hamas operatives in the process. Last week, Israel identified two well-known Hamas operatives as the chief suspects. The two men remained on the run late Monday.

News of the teens' deaths prompted an outpouring of grief among Israelis. Friends and neighbors rushed to the homes of the families in the Israeli towns of Nof Ayalon and Elad, and the West Bank settlement Talmon, while supporters lit memorial candles.

"All of Israel bows its head today," President Shimon Peres said.

Netanyahu met with his Security Cabinet, a group of senior government ministers, late Monday to discuss how to respond to the killings.

The three-hour session ended after midnight without any firm decisions, and officials were expected to resume deliberations today.

Early this morning, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in Gaza, saying it had struck 34 targets across the Hamas-controlled territory. The military said the airstrikes were a response to a barrage of 18 rockets fired into Israel since late Sunday.

"The [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to act in order to restore the peaceful living to the civilians of the state of Israel. The Hamas terror organization and its extensions are solely responsible for any terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip," Lerner said.

There were no further details on the targets, but in recent weeks Israel has repeatedly targeted launch sites and weapons storage areas in similar attacks. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel has not publicly provided any evidence proving Hamas involvement in the abductions, and it is not clear whether the kidnappers received orders or acted on their own. The group praised the kidnappings but never claimed responsibility.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned Israel against any broad offensive.

"Netanyahu should know that threats don't scare Hamas, and if he wages a war on Gaza, the gates of hell will open on him," he said.

Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, said Israel would step up its calls for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to dissolve the unity government he recently formed with the backing of Hamas.

Abbas has condemned the kidnappings, and his forces coordinated closely with Israel during the search for the teens. But he has so far refused Israeli calls to dissolve the unity government, which ended a seven-year rift with Hamas. The Palestinian president called a meeting of the Palestinian leadership to discuss the recent events, said his spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeneh.

Abbas said his new Cabinet is committed to his political program of seeking peace with Israel. Hamas is not part of his government but has lent its backing from the outside.

The unity deal ostensibly ended seven years of Hamas rule in Gaza. But the militant group remains in firm control of the seaside territory.

Jewish leaders around the world condemned the deaths of the young men. Ron Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, said the killings "must spur the world into action" against Hamas.

A Section on 07/01/2014