Bodies of missing Israeli teens found

Jerusalem • The Israeli military found the bodies of three missing teenagers on Monday just over two weeks after they were abducted in the West Bank — a grim discovery that ended a frantic search that led to Israel's largest ground operation in the Palestinian territory in nearly a decade and drew Israeli threats of retaliation.

"Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed, referring to the Islamic militant group that Israel has accused of carrying out the kidnappings.

The teenagers "were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by human animals," the Israeli leader said as he convened an emergency meeting of his Security Cabinet.

The three-hour session ended after midnight without any decisions, and officials were expected to resume deliberations Tuesday.

The episode has put Netanyahu in a difficult position. With a public enraged over the deaths, the Israeli leader has widespread support to strike Hamas. But after a two-week crackdown against the group, he could have a tough time finding new targets. He is also facing international calls for restraint.

Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, disappeared June 12 while hitchhiking home from the Jewish seminaries where they were studying near the West Bank city of Hebron. In an operation codenamed "Brother's Keeper," Israel dispatched thousands of troops across the West Bank in search of the youths, closed roads in the Hebron area and arrested about 400 Hamas operatives throughout the territory. The search ended Monday afternoon with the discovery of the bodies under a pile of rocks in a field north of Hebron.

Israel has identified two well-known Hamas operatives from Hebron as the primary suspects. The men, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisheh, remain on the run, and military officials said the search for them would continue.

Beyond identifying the suspected kidnappers, Israel has not publicly provided evidence proving the involvement of Hamas, which has praised the kidnappings but not claimed responsibility for them. It is also not clear whether the kidnappers received orders from higher-ups or acted on their own.

In Washington, President Barack Obama sent his "deepest and heartfelt condolences" to the families. "As a father, I cannot imagine the indescribable pain that the parents of these teenage boys are experiencing," he said. Yet he urged "all parties" to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the situation.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a similar condemnation of the "heinous crime," but also urged the sides to "refrain from any actions that could further escalate this highly tense situation."