Israel's Army Razes Gaza After Bodies of Israeli Teens Were Found

A home damaged by the Israeli Army on July 1, 2014

The Israeli Air Force carried out what it called "precision strikes" on 34 "terror targets" in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night and a Palestinian from the group Hamas was shot dead when he threw a grenade at the forces carrying out the arrest raid.

Tensions soared after Israel discovered the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped in the West Bank earlier in June; and the Palestinian, who was killed on Tuesday, was the first casualty since the bodies were found. Continue...

Three deceased Israeli teenagers

The Israeli Defense Forces reportedly said the strikes were in response to rockets being launched earlier into Israel from Gaza. The waves of rockets from Gaza and IDF retaliations have picked up since the teens were kidnapped and the Israeli crackdown began.

Hamas, an Islamic Resistant Movement, has not claimed responsibility for launching the rockets but Israel holds them responsible for everything coming out of Gaza.

On discovering the bodies of the teenagers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly rebuked the Islamic group for the damage done - as he is certain that "Hamas is responsible."

"With heavy grief, this evening we found three bodies. All signs indicate that they are the bodies of our three abducted youths -- Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frankel," Netanyahu said before the start of an emergency cabinet meeting. A short time later, he said in a statement: "Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay."

"They were abducted and murdered in cold blood by human animals. On behalf of the entire Jewish people, I would like to tell the dear families –- the mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, and brothers and sisters –- we are deeply saddened, the entire nation weeps with you. We will give the boys a proper burial," Netanyahu said.

Afterwards, the prime minister then quoted Israeli poet Hayim Nahman Bialik.

"'Vengeance for the blood of a small child, Satan has not yet created,'" he said. 

"Neither has vengeance for the blood of three pure youths, who were on their way home to meet their parents, who will not see them anymore ... May the memories of the three boys be blessed."

Source: ABC News