Israel mourns and vows Hamas ‘will pay’ as slain teens laid to rest

The citizens of Israel were shocked and saddened on Monday when news emerged that the bodies of the three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped on June 12 were discovered in a field west of Halhul, near Hebron.

The funerals of Gilad Shaar and U.S.-Israeli national Naftali Frenkel, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, were held Tuesday. Though the three did not live in the same town, they were buried side by side in the city of Modiin.

The kidnapping appalled Israelis who rallied behind the youngsters’ families in a display of national unity. The teens had apparently been shot soon after being abducted, while still in the kidnappers’ car, officials said.

Israel has accused two Hamas terrorists—Amer Abu Aysha and Marwan Kawasme—of carrying out the abductions, and the suspects are still at large. Israeli media said the break in the case, which led to the discovery of the bodies, came after the suspects’ relatives were interrogated.

Soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) elite Maglan special-forces unit and the Kfir infantry brigade, as well as civilian volunteers, discovered the dead bodies in their search on Monday. The search’s focus on the specific area where the bodies were found was based on intelligence information gathered by the Shin Bet security agency. Also, a pair of glasses belonging to Yifrach was found nearby in recent days.

The fenced field where the bodies were found was uncultivated and strewn with boulders. Soldiers had searched the area recently, but not the specific field where the bodies were located. During Monday’s search, soldiers noticed something unusual on the ground that stood out from the surroundings and decided to dig there, leading to the discovery of the bodies.

After the bodies were discovered, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz arrived at the scene for a situational assessment with GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon and Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai.

The field is a 15-minute drive away from Alon Shvut Junction in Gush Etzion, where the teens were kidnapped on June 12.