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 . '' Tensions between Israel and Hamas ratcheted up June 30 after the bodies of the three were found in the West Bank . Friday 's statement included no comment on the teens ' deaths . Israel blamed the disappearances and deaths on Hamas . `` Hamas will pay , '' said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . Meanwhile , the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV reported Friday that the group had executed 18 suspected informants for Israel in Gaza on Friday , the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV reported . The developments came one day after an Israeli strike in the Gaza city of Rafah killed three senior leaders of the Qassam Brigades . Palestinian militants fired more rockets into Israel on Friday , and the Israeli Defense Forces kept up airstrikes on Gaza . Ashraf el-Qedra , spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza , said 2,092 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began in early July . That figure did not include the reported executions . The United Nations estimates that around 70 % of the dead in the conflict were civilians . The fighting has killed 68 people on the Israeli side , almost all of them soldiers . A 4-year-old boy became the latest civilian victim in Israel Friday , after a mortar shell exploded in the parking lot of a kibbutz close to Gaza , Israeli rescue services said . The boy is the first civilian casualty in Israel since the latest ceasefire collapsed , and the fourth in the recent fighting . El-Qedra said Friday that 76 Palestinians have been killed since the two sides resumed hostilities on Tuesday after the collapse of a ceasefire and talks aimed at finding a lasting end to the fighting . The truce fell apart after Israel reported that militants had started firing rockets again . Since the fighting flared up again this week , 360 rockets have been fired from Gaza toward Israel , according to the Israel Defense Forces . They have caused some injuries but no deaths . Israel 's Iron Dome missile defense system has intercepted 56 of the rockets , the IDF said . The Israeli military has attacked around 200 targets in Gaza during the same period , the IDF said . Hamas , the militant group that holds power in Gaza , has warned that Israel will `` pay the price '' for killing three high-ranking leaders of its military wing , the Qassam Brigades , on Thursday . Seven civilians also were killed in the bombing of the house in southern Gaza where the leaders were located . The IDF said the military leaders were responsible for `` major terror attacks against Israelis . '' The Qassam Brigades ' threat this week to target Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv does n't so far appear to have affected flights . Six decades of war . Gaza 's zoo animals caught in crossfire . Israelis jailed for refusing to serve .
Operation to abduct the teens was not approved by leadership , Hamas official says . The death of the teens has been followed by weeks of violence . Palestinian death toll is 2,092 , according to Gaza Ministry of Health , not including executions . Hamas executes 18 suspected informants for Israel , TV report says .