Israel sends barrage of airstrikes into Gaza following the murders of three abducted Israeli teens found shot dead by militants
- Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, found dead
- The three teens went missing near Hebron, West Bank, on June 12
- Israeli forces set off explosions in the family homes of the alleged abductors which were apparently empty
- Six Palestinian men arrested overnight, five are Hamas members
- 'They were abducted and murdered in cold blood by human animals,' Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement
- Israel has carried out a series of airstrikes in Gaza, saying it had struck 34 targets across Hamas-controlled territory
- The military said the airstrikes were a response to a barrage of 18 rockets fired into Israel since late Sunday
- President Barack Obama urged Israel and the Palestinian Authority to continue working together and not 'destabilize the situation'
- Obama called killings a 'senseless act of terror against innocent youth'
The bodies of three missing Israeli teenagers were found in the occupied West Bank, and Israel vowed to punish Hamas, the Palestinian group it accuses of abducting and killing them.
'They were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by beasts,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after the military discovered on Monday the remains of the Jewish seminary students who disappeared on June 12. 'Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay.'
U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the killings but called on all parties to exercise restraint.
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Tragedy: The bodies of Naftali Frenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, and two Israeli teenagers have been found two weeks after their disappearance
Great loss: Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, (left), both aged 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, (right) disappeared during a late-night hiking trip near a Jewish settlement
The boys’ disappearance while hitchhiking a fortnight ago triggered one of the country’s biggest ever manhunts.
Now the grim find near the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank seems certain to lead to a more aggressive crackdown by Israel against the Palestinian militant group, which has its power base in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri warned against escalation, saying that if Netanyahu 'brings a war on Gaza, the gates of hell will open to him.'
Early Tuesday, Israel carried out an especially intense 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 IDF 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,' said Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, a military spokesman.
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.
Netanyahu, who earlier on Monday held Hamas responsible for the new rocket strikes from Gaza, convened his security cabinet to consider moves against the Islamist group, which has neither confirmed nor denied Israel's allegations about the kidnapping.
The senior ministers ended their late-night session without taking any final decisions and plan to reconvene later on Tuesday, a government official said.
'Netanyahu's threats against Gaza and against Hamas do not frighten us,' the movement's Gaza-based leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was quoted as saying by its Al-Quds television station.
Meanwhile his deputy defence minister Danny Danon said: ‘Israelis have the willingness and the fortitude necessary to endure the hardships of a long-lasting operation aimed at eradicating Hamas. We will not stop until Hamas is completely defeated.’
Last week, the Israel Security Agency said it believed that two 'Hamas activists from Hebron' were behind the teens' disappearances. It identified them as Marwan Qawasmeh, 29, and Amar Abu-Isa, 32.
Captors: The Israeli Defense Force had named Marwan Kawasmeh (left) and Amar Abu-Eisha (right) as the teen's kidnappers in an announcement made last Thursday. They are still allegedly on the run
Homes decimated: Flames are seen after a blast on the top floor of the family home of an alleged abductor in the West Bank City of Hebron July 1
Destruction: Troops set off explosions in the family homes of the alleged abductors, blowing open a doorway in one, an army spokeswoman said, while television footage showed the other on fire after the blast. Neighbous said both houses were empty
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was ‘deeply saddened by the news’.
He added: ‘This was an appalling and inexcusable act of terror perpetrated against young teenagers. Britain will stand with Israel as it seeks to bring to justice those responsible.
‘No parent should have ever to suffer such heartache or grief.’ In Washington, a White House spokesman said the US ‘condemns in the strongest possible terms violence that takes the lives of innocent civilians’.
Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, were travelling home from their religious schools in settlements in the West Bank when they disappeared on June 12.
Over the past fortnight, Israeli media have been delivering round-the-clock updates on the search and their mothers have become high-profile figures campaigning for their sons’ return.
Israelis held daily prayer vigils, including mass gatherings attended by tens of thousands of people at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and in a square in central Tel Aviv.
The bodies of Gil-Ad Shaer and U.S.-Israeli national Naftali Fraenkel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19, were found in a field near Hebron, a militant stronghold, not far from a road where they were believed to have been abducted while hitchhiking, security officials said.
A nation's grief: Israelis gather on June 30, 2014 in the Israeli city of El'Ad, outside the house of Eyal Yifrach, one the three missing teenagers, after Israel confirmed that their bodies were found in a field near Halhul
Not coming home: Orthodox Jews, family and friends of Israeli Eyal Yifrah, gather outside of his home on Monday
Above, More community members gather outside the Yifrah family home on Monday
The teens, who attended a religious school in a Jewish settlement, had apparently been shot soon after having been taken, the officials said. Two of the youths lived in Israel.
'They were under a pile of rocks, in an open field,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner, a military spokesman. The alleged abductors are still at large. Israeli media said the break in the case came after their relatives were interrogated.
Troops set off explosions in the family homes of the alleged abductors, blowing open a doorway in one, an army spokeswoman said, while television footage showed the other on fire after the blast. Neighbors said both houses were empty.
After news of the teenagers' deaths, condolence messages and condemnation of the killings poured in from foreign leaders. 'The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms, this senseless act of terror against innocent youths,' Obama said in a statement. 'I also urge all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the situation.'
At the square in Tel Aviv where Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995, scores of Israelis lit memorial candles for the teenagers, a day after thousands attended a prayer vigil for them at the same spot.
Hamas has been rocked by the arrest of dozens of its activists in an Israeli military sweep in the West Bank over the past three weeks during a search for the teenagers that Israel said was also aimed at weakening the militant movement
Up to six Palestinians died as a result of the Israeli operation, local residents said.
The kidnapping, near a settlement in the West Bank, appalled Israelis who rallied behind the youngsters' families in a display of national unity reminiscent of times of war or national crisis in a country with deep political and religious divisions.
'On behalf of the people of Israel, I wish to tell their dear families ... our hearts are bleeding, the entire nation is weeping with you,' Netanyahu said in the statement.
Scene: Israeli soldiers are seen removing their gear at the northern entrance to the West Bank village of Halhoul, north of Hebron, where the bodies of the three Israelis teenagers were discovered
Grim discovery: Initial reports from Israeli military sources say the three boys were killed shortly after their abduction two-and-a-half weeks ago
Military action: An Israeli policeman stands guard next to military and police vehicles in the village of Halhul, following the discovery
Naftali Frenkel had dual US and Israeli citizenship, while the two other victims were Israeli.
Hundreds of Hamas members have already been detained in an Israeli sweep through Palestinian towns and villages, mainly in and around Hebron near where the boys disappeared.
After the bodies were found, Israeli forces closed off the area around the city.
A report on Monday night also accused Palestinians of attacking the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ambulance humvee that was transporting the bodies of the three teens.
'Arabs' threw paint on the ambulance and smashed the windows, The Algemeiner reported.
Since the start of the Israeli operation, some 40 rockets have also been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has previously called for Israel’s destruction, although various officials have at times indicated a willingness to negotiate a long-term ceasefire.
But with the discovery of the teenagers’ bodies yesterday, a peaceful outcome appeared further away than ever.
Support: An estimated 80,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv last night demanding the release of three Israeli teens
National campaign: One of the mothers of three teenagers speaks during the rally on Sunday night
National campaign: Newly elected Israeli President Reuven Rivlin speaks during the rally in Tel Aviv on SUnday
Netanyahu seized on the abduction to demand Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas abrogate a reconciliation deal he reached with Hamas, his long-time rival, in April that led to a unity Palestinian government on June 2.
Netanyahu has called on Abbas to dissolve a unity government recently formed with the backing of Hamas, saying it is impossible to be committed to peace while simultaneously sitting together with a group that abducts Israelis.
Abbas has refused the calls, saying his government is committed to his political programme. Hamas is not part of the government, but has lent its backing.
Abbas condemned the abduction pledged the cooperation of his security forces, drawing criticism from Hamas and undercutting his popularity among Palestinians angered by what they saw as his collusion with Israel.
Hamas, which has maintained security control of the Gaza Strip since the unity deal, is shunned by the West over its refusal to renounce violence.
The group has called for Israel's destruction, although various officials have at times indicated a willingness to negotiate a long-term ceasefire.Last week, Israel identified two well known Hamas operatives as the chief suspects. The two men remained on the run yesterday.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2675451/Bodies-three-Jewish-settlers-went-missing-near-Hebron-near-West-Bank-city.html#ixzz36Brdp99m
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