Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed nine Hamas militants early Monday morning. Later Monday, Hamas promised Israel "will pay a tremendous price" for the strikes. The attacks in part targeted rocket launchers, after Hamas militants in Gaza fired rockets into Israel over the weekend.

This recent spate of violence comes days after the death of Palestinian teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir — he was kidnapped and burned alive in East Jerusalem last week. Israeli authorities arrested six "young males" yesterday for the crime, and according to Haaretz, three have already confessed. All the suspects are said to have "nationalistic" views, which suggests that the killing may have been revenge for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in June.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he spoke with Khdeir's father on the phone, expressing his condolences for the "reprehensible murder" of his son. "We denounce all brutal behavior. The murder of your son is abhorrent and cannot be countenanced by any human being," he said, according to the BBC.

Amidst the air strikes, Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told citizens on TV, "These things need to be cut when they are small. At this moment, everybody's job should be to lower the flames."

[Image via AP]