Following the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped in the West Bank earlier this month, reporters said they could hear the sound of airstrikes tonight in Gaza.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the strikes were in retaliation for the kidnappings and murders, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to avenge. The Israel Defense Forces also tweeted early Tuesday morning that a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel, but no damage was reported.
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
PHOTO: Eyal Ylfrah, Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha'er, are seen in these undated photos.
The discovery of the bodies drew a strong rebuke from Netanyahu earlier today as he convened an emergency meeting of his Security Council.
"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.
Watch: This Is the Intersection Where 3 Hitchhiking Teens Were Abducted
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"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."
Then the prime minister quoted Israeli poet Hayim Nahman Bialik. "'Vengeance for the blood of a small child, Satan has not yet created,'" he said. "[N]either 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. Hamas is responsible –- and Hamas will pay. May the memories of the three boys be blessed."
There were reports that Israeli soldiers had already been deployed in Hebron, where the teens went missing on June 12, and Israeli TV stations showed pictures of soldiers moving through the village of Halhul, just north of Hebron.
Hamas had warned Israel on Monday before the bodies were found that waging war on the Gaza Strip would “open the gates of hell” on Israel.
ABC News' Alexander Marquardt, Bruno Nota, Mike Levine and Ali Weinberg contributed to this report.
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