A BBC reporter claims an Israeli police official told him the men responsible for kidnapping and killing three Israeli teens last month were not acting under instruction from Hamas.

The abduction and killings were used as a justification for the Israeli military assault on Gaza that began July 8 and is ongoing. When the deaths were announced, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unequivocally blamed Hamas, the militant Islamic group that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has formed a unity government with the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank.

“Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay,” read a translation of a post on Netanyahu’s Facebook page. The kidnapping occurred June 12.

Returning to the question of responsibility, BBC journalist Jon Donnison tweeted Friday morning:

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

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#benjamin netanyahu#gaza#hamas#operation protective edge#west bank