Bodies of three abducted students found in a shallow grave near Hebron, but Hamas denies involvement in murders 
 
 Israeli jets and helicopters launched dozens of air strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight on Monday, just hours after the bodies of three abducted Israeli teenagers were found in a shallow grave near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. 
 
 The air strikes, ostensibly in response to an ongoing barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, came after the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, vowed the militant Islamist group Hamas, blamed by Israel for the kidnapping, would "pay a heavy price". 
 
 The United Nations human rights office urged on Tuesday all Israelis and Palestinians to exercise "maximum restraint" as the tension across Israel and occupied Palestinian territory escalated. 
 
 Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16, who also had US citizenship, went missing while hitchhiking home from their religious schools in settlements on the West Bank on 12 June. 
 
 Their bodies were found by soldiers and volunteers in a valley covered with stones and brush on Monday afternoon. 
 
 The air strikes, which struck 34 locations in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip that Israel says were associated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, came as troops on the West Bank killed an 18 year-old Palestinian during a raid in Jenin. Israeli authorities claim the teenager was a Hamas member who threw an explosive device at Israeli soldiers. 
 
 In Hebron, meanwhile, it was reported that the Israeli military had blown up the houses of two Hamas members named by Israel as suspects in the abduction Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Eisheh – the first punitive house demolitions since Israel halted the practice in 2005. The two men disappeared from their homes shortly after the abduction and have not been arrested. 
 
 Following the discovery of the missing Israeli's bodies on Monday, new details about the teenagers' abduction and murder 19 days ago while hitching home from West Bank religious schools have emerged in the Hebrew press, including the fact that investigators believe that the teenagers were killed within a few minutes of getting into a stolen car near Gush Etzion junction. 
 
 According to Israeli media reports, investigators found a bullet casing and other signs consistent with the youths being shot while sitting in the car, which was was later found abandoned and burned only a few kilometres from where their bodies were subsequently discovered. It is believed the three were shot shortly after one of the youths had managed to call an emergency hotline and whisper that they had been kidnapped after being alarmed that the car had made a sudden u-turn. Their bodies were buried in a field near the village of Halhul just north of one of the entrances to Hebron. Israeli officials believe the abductors had planned to trade the bodies for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. 
 
 Binyamin Proper, who was among the civilian volunteers that found the bodies covered with piles of rocks, told Channel 2 TV that a member of the search party "saw something suspicious on the ground, plants that looked out of place, moved them and moved some rocks and then found the bodies. We realised it was them and we called the army". 
 
 The search for the missing teenagers prompted a vast Israeli military operation in the West Bank and the arrest of some 400 Palestinians – mainly Hamas members. The incident has dramatically increased tensions across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. 
 
 Prior to the discovery of the bodies, five Palestinians had been killed during the search operation. 
 
 The case, which has received rolling Israeli media coverage, has gripped the Israeli public, prompting mass rallies and a huge outpouring of public sympathy for the mothers of the three teenagers. 
 
 The families of Palestinians killed during the search – some of them also teenagers – have complained that the death of their children have been largely ignored in press coverage. 
 
 Following the discovery of the bodies on Monday, Netanyahu issued a statement once again blaming Hamas. 
 
 "Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay ... [They] were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by wild beasts." 
 
 Israel's economy minister, Naftali Bennett, added his own statement vowing retaliation: "There can be no forgiveness for the killers of children and those who sent them. Now is the time to act." 
 
 For its part, Hamas has denied involvement. Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Monday: "Only the Israeli version of the events has been published." 
 
 "Israel is attempting to make way for aggression against us, against the Hamas ... No Palestinian group, Hamas or any other group, has taken responsibility for the action, and thus the Israeli version can't be trusted," he added. 
 
 A ball of fire is seen following an Israel airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza. Photograph: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 The Israel media reported on Tuesday morning that Netanyahu had faced splits in his Cabinet in its deliberations over how hard to retaliate both for the murders and the increased in rocket fire. 
 
 Senior officials stated both publicly and privately on Monday night and Tuesday morning that Israel was not seeking an "escalation with Hamas", suggesting that despite the rhetoric and the airstrikes in Gaza, retaliation might be limited.Several analysts in the Israeli media, including Amos Harel in Haaretz, have suggested Netanyahu is not keen to get embroiled in a long conflict with Hamas. 
 
 Messages of sympathy continued to come from international leaders who also called for calm. In a statement issue by his office, British prime minister David Cameron said: "I am deeply saddened by the news that the bodies of the three Israeli boys kidnapped on 12 June have been found this evening. 
 
 "This was an appalling and inexcusable act of terror perpetrated against young teenagers. Britain will stand with Israel as it seeks to bring to justice those responsible." 
 
 US president Barack Obama also issued a statement saying: "As a father, I cannot imagine the indescribable pain that the parents of these teenage boys are experiencing." 
 
 "The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms this senseless act of terror against innocent youth. 
 
 "From the outset, I have offered our full support to Israel and the Palestinian Authority to find the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice, and I encourage Israel and the PA to continue working together in that effort. I also urge all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilise the situation. As the Israeli people deal with this tragedy, they have the full support and friendship of the United States." ||||| Media caption The teenagers were last seen at a busy hitch-hiking spot, from where Yolande Knell reports 
 
 Israel has vowed retribution against Hamas, the militant Palestinian group it says kidnapped and murdered three teenagers in the occupied West Bank. 
 
 The bodies of Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach were found on Monday evening, after they had been missing for more than a fortnight. 
 
 Israel PM Benyamin Netanyahu said: "Hamas is responsible and Hamas will pay." Hamas denies any involvement. 
 
 Israel launched more than 30 air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight. 
 
 The strikes came in response to 18 rocket attacks on southern Israel from Gaza since Sunday night, the Israeli military said. 
 
 Israeli troops also flooded into the Palestinian town of Halhul. The bodies were found under a pile of rocks near the town. An Israeli official said it appeared the teenagers were shot soon after their abduction. 
 
 Israel named two suspects as Ayoub al-Kawasma and Abu Aisheh. The Israeli military said it set off explosives while raiding the homes of both. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Israeli soldiers detonated explosives at the homes of two Hamas suspects 
 
 Pictures showed extensive damage at the home of Abu Aisheh. 
 
 One Palestinian was also shot dead after throwing an explosive device at Israeli forces carrying out an operation in the West Bank town of Jenin early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said. 
 
 Analysis, by Kevin Connolly, BBC News, Jerusalem 
 
 Israel's overnight air raids on Hamas targets in Gaza were an immediate response to a wave of missile attacks launched from the Palestinian enclave since Sunday. 
 
 They should not be seen as a definitive response to the abduction and murder of the three teenage boys whose fate has transfixed this country over the course of the last two-and-a-half weeks. 
 
 In keeping with Jewish religious custom the funerals will take place on Tuesday - and only when they have passed and the outpouring of national grief they will prompt has died down will Israel's governments finalise its military and political plans. 
 
 Having firmly focused the blame for the murders on Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to demonstrate to the Israeli public that his response will be calibrated to match the huge sense of anger and outrage that is felt here. 
 
 In the past, Israel has used targeted missile attacks to kill senior members of militant groups and it has the military capacity to target Hamas's stockpiles of missiles and rockets in a sustained campaign. 
 
 And it will have a clear political goal too. Israel was angered by the creation of a Palestinian unity government which brought together Hamas with the Palestinian Authority, whose forces helped to look for the victims. 
 
 Hamas said Israel was using the abductions "story" to justify a war on Palestinians. 
 
 Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that if Israeli forces "carry out an escalation or a war, they will open the gates of hell on themselves". 
 
 Media caption Vigils were held after the discovery of the bodies, as Yolande Knell reports 
 
 'Action not words' 
 
 The deaths of the students, who were last seen at a junction between Hebron and Jerusalem as they hitchhiked home, has sparked international condemnation. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption The abductions of Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach sparked a massive search operation 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption A memorial service was held near the United Nations headquarters in New York 
 
 Israeli security forces have set up blockades and closed down whole areas around Halhul, a few kilometres from where the teenagers were last seen. 
 
 Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on Facebook: "Murderers of children and those who direct them cannot be forgiven. Now is a time for actions, not words." 
 
 The teenagers' funerals, which will be held on Tuesday afternoon, will be the focus of intense grief and national anger, says the BBC's Middle East correspondent Kevin Connolly. 
 
 Late on Monday, rockets were launched from Gaza into south Israel. Israel then began air strikes against militant sites in the Gaza Strip. 
 
 The ministry of health in Gaza said at least four people were wounded when an air strike hit a police station in central Gaza. 
 
 Hamas and Islamic Jihad training facilities were also targeted, local sources said. 
 
 Air strikes on electricity stations also caused widespread blackouts. 
 
 A BBC reporter in Gaza says that Hamas denies carrying out the rocket attacks. 
 
 'We wanted peace' 
 
 Israel's Deputy Defence Minister, Dan Danon, told the BBC that Hamas "must pay a price". 
 
 Media caption Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev: "All Israel is united in mourning" 
 
 "We have to say it very clear if you kill innocent children on the way back from school, you cannot continue to work with us as usual," he said. 
 
 Hamas has denied being behind the teenagers' abductions or deaths. 
 
 Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of "trying to take advantage" of the situation "to open war against our people". He warned that Israel would "pay a price" for any "aggression". 
 
 Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called an emergency meeting of the Palestinian leadership. 
 
 His spokesman Abdallah Abdallah expressed "regret" for the deaths. "We wanted peace to be created in this part of the world so no mother or no family will be bereaved for the loss of their beloved ones, Palestinian or Israeli." 
 
 The disappearance of the teenagers on 12 June sparked a huge search operation in Palestinian towns and cities across the West Bank. 
 
 More than 400 Palestinians were arrested, while five were killed by Israeli troops. 
 
 Mr Netanyahu has said the incident is a consequence of "the partnership" between Hamas and the Fatah movement of Mr Abbas. 
 
 The two signed a reconciliation deal in April after years of division and formed a unity government last month. ||||| JERUSALEM The body of an abducted Palestinian youth was found in Jerusalem on Wednesday, raising suspicions he had been killed by Israelis avenging the deaths of three abducted Jewish teens. 
 
 News of the discovery of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khudair, who was last seen being bundled into a van earlier in the day, triggered clashes between rock-throwing Palestinians and Israeli police in the city. 
 
 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Jewish settlers of killing Abu Khudair and demanded that Israel "mete out the strongest punishment against the murderers if it truly wants peace". 
 
 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged police "to swiftly investigate who was behind the loathsome murder and its motive". He called on all sides "not to take the law into their own hands". 
 
 Police said they had found a body in the wooded outskirts of Jerusalem. Abu Khudair's father told Reuters the force had told him the body was his son. 
 
 An Israeli security source said Israel suspected the youth had been kidnapped and murdered, possibly in retribution for the killings of the Israeli teens. Their bodies were discovered on Monday, nearly three weeks after they were abducted in the occupied West Bank. 
 
 Israel says Palestinian Hamas militants killed them. The Islamist group has neither confirmed nor denied the allegation. 
 
 The White House condemned the killing of Abu Khudair and called on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to "take all necessary steps to prevent an atmosphere of revenge and retribution." 
 
 Netanyahu convened his security cabinet later on Wednesday as violence also flared up across the Israel-Gaza border, with Palestinians firing at least a dozen rockets and mortars, and Israel's military carrying out an air strike. 
 
 WHITE VAN 
 
 Abu Khudair's cousin said the 16-year-old was grabbed off the street after leaving his home in Jerusalem's Arab neighbourhood of Shuafat to go to morning prayers with friends. 
 
 "Somebody ran into the house to say one of the boys had been dragged into a white van, so (Mohammed's) mother called the police," the cousin, Naima, said. 
 
 The abduction came a day after the three Jewish seminary students - Gil-Ad Shaer and U.S.-Israeli national Naftali Fraenkel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19 - were buried in a funeral attended by tens of thousands of mourners. 
 
 While the teenagers were laid to rest in the city of Modi'in, several hundreds Israeli demonstrators, some chanting "Death to Arabs", blocked the main entrance to Jerusalem. 
 
 Cries for revenge have echoed throughout the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
 
 They can be heard at the emotionally charged funerals of Palestinians killed by Israel, and the phrase "May God avenge his death" is often invoked at the burials of Israelis slain by Palestinians. 
 
 But deadly Israeli vigilante attacks, in declared retribution for Palestinian assaults, have been rare in recent years. 
 
 More common are the so-called "price tag" incidents in which mosques and Palestinian property are torched or damaged - originally a reference by ultra-nationalist Jews to making the government "pay" for any curbs on Jewish settlement on land Palestinians seek for a state. 
 
 Hebrew graffiti found on a building in the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday read: "Price tag, Jewish revenge." 
 
 Tensions were high in the West Bank, where around 40 Palestinians were arrested in raids on Tuesday, the latest in a campaign by Israel to cripple Hamas there. 
 
 Four people were wounded by live bullets early on Wednesday in an Israeli raid in the Palestinian city of Jenin. 
 
 Near Hebron, Israeli forces destroyed the home of a Palestinian arrested on charges of shooting dead an off-duty police officer in the West Bank in April. 
 
 Israel, which suspended the demolition policy in 2005 as a Palestinian uprising waned, says destroying the homes of Palestinians involved in attacks on Israelis has a deterrent effect. Rights groups have condemned the practice as collective punishment. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Ammar Awad, Ori Lewis, Maayan Lubell and Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Noah Browning; Editing by Larry King)
– After the bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teens were found near where they were last seen in the West bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that "Hamas will pay"—and within hours, Israeli jets and helicopters began dozens of airstrikes on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. There were at least 34 airstrikes overnight, reports the New York Times, which calls the strikes an escalation of two weeks of skirmishes that have included the firing of rockets into Israel. More: In the West Bank city of Hebron, witnesses say the Israeli military has blown up the homes of Hamas suspects Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Eisheh, in the first punitive demolitions since Israel abandoned the practice in 2005, reports the Guardian. The two suspects disappeared shortly after the abduction. According to reports in the Israeli media, investigators believe the three teens were shot dead within minutes of being kidnapped, after one of them managed to call an emergency hotline. Their bodies were found in a field near Hebron 19 days after they disappeared. A Hamas spokesman says "no Palestinian group, Hamas or any other group," has taken responsibility for the killings. He accuses Israel of using the kidnap to justify attacks on Palestinians, and warns that if Israeli forces "carry out an escalation or a war, they will open the gates of hell on themselves," the BBC reports. One of the teens held American citizenship and President Obama has issued a statement saying "as a father, I cannot imagine the indescribable pain that the parents of these teenage boys are experiencing." He also urged "all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the situation." A West Bank man shot in the chest early today has become the sixth Palestinian to be killed by the Israeli military since the teenagers' disappearance sparked a huge crackdown, reports CNN.