3 Israeli Teens Found Dead, Netanyahu Says Hamas to Pay for 'Cold Blood' Murder
Israel on Monday confirmed finding the bodies of three teenagers who disappeared in the southern West Bank on June 12, blaming the Palestinian Hamas movement for their kidnapping and murder.
"During the search for Eyal Ifrach, Gilad Shaer and Naftali Frankel, the IDF discovered 3 bodies near Hebron," the Israeli army said in a statement on Twitter.
It was not immediately clear how they died.
Deputy defense minister Danny Danon also confirmed their bodies had been discovered, saying they had been murdered by "Hamas terrorists" and calling for a widespread operation to "eradicate" the Islamist movement.
Public radio said the bodies were discovered in a field near Halhul, a town north of Hebron, about 10 minutes from the roadside in the southern West Bank where they were last seen.
The Ynet news website said the bodies were found by soldiers and civilian volunteers.
Shortly before the news was made public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an urgent meeting of his security cabinet from 9:30 pm (1830 GMT) with ministers expected to take "operative" decisions, public radio said.
Later on Monday, Netanyahu said "they were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by animals in human form."
"Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay," he vowed.
Israeli troops could be seen carrying out widespread searches in the Halhul area which is some five kilometers (three miles) north of Hebron, an Agence France Presse correspondent said.
"We will not stop until Hamas is completely defeated," Danon said.
"The homes of the terrorists must be demolished and their arms caches destroyed.
"Our mission will not be complete until all the terror organizations are deterred from attacking Israelis and understand once and for all that the people of Israel will not be threatened," he said.
Later on Monday, Hamas warned that any Israeli attack will open "the gates of hell."
"If the occupiers carry out an escalation or a war, they will open the gates of hell on themselves," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Agence France Presse.
The warning came shortly after Israel confirmed finding the three bodies.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of kidnapping the teens, two of whom were minors, and launched a major crackdown on the movement's West Bank infrastructure.
Hamas has dismissed the Israeli allegations as "stupid" with Abu Zuhri accusing Israel of fabricating the kidnapping as an excuse to crack down on the Islamist movement.
"The disappearance and murder of the three Israelis is only based on the Israeli narrative, and the occupation is trying to use this story to justify its extensive war against our people, against resistance and against Hamas," he charged.
Source: Agence France Presse
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