A Hamas official admitted Friday that militants from his group abducted three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June, but the official said the kidnappers did not tell their leaders about the action. The three teens were later found dead. Since then, violence has flared in the region. Saleh Aruri, a Hamas Political Bureau member, said in a statement from Doha, Qatar, the operation to abduct the teens was not approved by the Hamas leadership or its military wing, the Qassam Brigades. "At that time, the Hamas leadership had no knowledge about this group or the operation it had just carried," Aruri said, referring to the abductors. "It turned out later, however, that they were members of Hamas."
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Operation to abduct the teens was not approved by leadership, Hamas official says
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The death of the teens has been followed by weeks of violence
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Palestinian death toll is 2,092, according to Gaza Ministry of Health, not including executions
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Hamas executes 18 suspected informants for Israel, TV report says
A 4-year-old boy became the latest civilian victim in @placeholder Friday, after a mortar shell exploded in the parking lot of a kibbutz close to Gaza, Israeli rescue services said.