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11/22/2024 06:42:19 am

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Israel Calls Hamas 'Human Beasts', Vows To Make Hamas Pay For Killing Three Kidnapped Teenagers

An Israeli woman holding a sign showing images of the three abducted teenagers in Tel Aviv Sunday.

(Photo : Reuters/Baz Ratner)

Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that the bodies of the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers have been found hidden in a shallow grave in the Southern West Bank.

In an emergency session with his security cabinet, Netanyahu told his ministers that "Hamas is responsible," condemning the militants as "human beasts."

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Israel vows to make Hamas pay for the cold blood murder, but the Islamist movement warned of opening the "gates of hell" should Israel carry out any reprisal attacks.

The discovery of the boys' bodies followed a massive manhunt that claimed five Palestinians lives and arrested 400 suspects who are primarily linked to terror organization.

The crackdown prompted the militants in the Gaza Strip to send waves of rocket attacks into Southern Israel as the Israeli troops countered with air strikes on Hamas-controlled territory where there had been no casualties, according to reports by the Palestinian interior ministry.

The Israeli Defense Force had named two Hamas members as prime suspects in the disappearance of the three teenagers. Marwan Kawasmeh and Amar Abu-Eisha remain at large, but Israeli troops have already blown up the alleged abductors' homes early Tuesday, The Guardian reported.

The abducted teens - Eyal Yifrach, 19, Naftali Frankel, 16, and Gilad Shaar, 16 - went missing on June 10 on their way home from their religious schools. According to media reports, the boys were shot shortly after they were abducted. Their bodies were sent for forensic identification, a senior IDF spokesman said Monday evening.

The militant group continues to deny any involvement in the abduction of the three Israeli youths accusing Israel of "attempting to make way for aggression against [Hamas]," said a senior Hamas spokesman.

According to Israeli Ambassador to United States Ron Dermer, Hamas has not yet taken responsibility for the killings. "But they are celebrating on the streets, praising it and calling for more and more kidnappings," told Dermer to BBC Radio 4's Today.

After news of the bodies' discovery, messages of condemnation of the killings poured in from from foreign leaders. In a written statement, US President Barack Obama condemned "in the strongest possible terms the senseless act of terror against innocent youth."

British Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed support for Israel saying that "Britain will stand with Israel as it seeks to bring to justice those responsible."

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