Security officials say the Israeli military has discovered the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped in the West Bank earlier this month.
They say the bodies were found Monday near the village of Halhul, near the location where the teens disappeared on June 12.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for releasing the information ahead of a formal announcement.
The search for the teens has become a national obsession, setting off a frantic manhunt and large crackdown on the Hamas militant group.
On June 26, the Israel Security Agency identified Marwan Kawasmeh, 29, and Amar Abu-Isa, 32, both well-known Hamas operatives in the West Bank as key suspects.
The three teenagers, Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, went missing as they were hitchhiking home on June 12.
Israeli forces have undergone a widespread operation against Hamas in the West Bank over the past few weeks.
It is the largest ground operation in the West Bank in over a decade, with Israel having already rounded up approximately 400 Palestinians, most of whom connected to Hamas.
But Hamas has denied it is responsible.
In April, Hamas entered a unity agreement with the Palestinian Authority. PA President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the kidnappings and demanded the release of the Israeli teens.
“Those who perpetrated this act want to destroy us [the Palestinians],” Abbas said June 18. “The three young men are human beings just like us and must be returned to their families.”
Palestinian militants fired at least 14 rockets into southern Israel early Monday, damaging two homes but causing no injuries, the army and police officials said.
Rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has increased in recent weeks as Israeli troops carry out an extensive operation against the Islamic militant group in the West Bank.
The rockets fired Monday raised to about 40 the number that have landed in Israel since the teens went missing earlier this month, the army said. The rockets have not killed or wounded anybody, but sow fear in Israeli communities near the border. Police said two houses were damaged by shrapnel on Monday.
“If the rocket fire continues, there are two options. Either Hamas will stop it. They are in charge on the ground. Or we will have to stop it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “I strongly suggest to Hamas to take into account that we will not allow the rocket fire to continue.”
Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, took control of Gaza in 2007 after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Early this month, Abbas moved to end the seven-year rift by forming a Palestinian unity government backed by Hamas. While Abbas is ostensibly in charge of Gaza, Hamas remains in de facto control with thousands of fighters and a large arsenal of rockets and other weapons.
Netanyahu has urged Abbas to dissolve the new government and cancel his agreement with Hamas. Abbas says his Cabinet, comprised of professional technocrats with no ties to Hamas, remains committed to his political program.
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