RETALIATION

Israel Responds Militarily to Dead Teens

Gaza airstrikes.

Israel responded to the deaths of three kidnapped teenagers by launching a series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. The military said it attacked 34 sites, most of them belonging to the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which is being blamed by the Israeli government. Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and joint U.S.-Israeli citizen Naftali Fraenkel, 16, were found dead on Monday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at an emergency cabinet meeting that “Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay.” Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the murder of the three teens, who were hitchhiking home from religious schooling on June 12 when they were abducted.