Palestinian killed in Jenin after throwing grenade at troops

Israeli troops continued their hunt for the prime suspects in the kidnappings and killings of three Israeli teenagers overnight Monday-Tuesday, sealing off the West Bank city of Hebron and the nearby village of Halhul.

Military sources said early Tuesday they believe the killers of the teens are still in the Hebron area.

The two Hamas men Israel believes carried out the kidnapping and killings, Amer Abu Aysha and Marwan Kawasme, have been missing from their homes in Hebron’s Hares neighborhood ever since the kidnapping took place. They were allegedly in the car in which the three were abducted.

The two were still at large Tuesday, and Israel’s security forces are making intensive efforts to track them down. Three Palestinians were arrested overnight Monday in the West Bank.

In Jenin, a Palestinian was shot dead after he threw a grenade at troops, a senior military official said Tuesday morning. The official said that the IDF had arrested 419 Palestinians since the onset of the operation, and that 57 of them had been released under the 2011 deal that saw abducted soldier Gilad Shalit freed. Soldiers had searched more than 2,200 sites, the official said.

Early Tuesday morning, the Israeli Air Force struck 34 targets in the Gaza Strip in response to ongoing rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.

A senior military official said early Tuesday that Hamas bore “clear responsibility” for recent rocket fire emanating from the Gaza Strip. He said that he scope of the airstrikes on Gaza overnight were intended to “convey that message.”

Read our roundup of last night’s activity here.