The IDF has now lifted a gag order over the fact that a gunshot was heard in the background as Naftali Frenkel HY”D (May God Avenge his blood) called the police on June 12. There was also forensic evidence found that the boys were murdered in the kidnap vehicle almost immediately.
Israeli officials have imposed a gag order on many details of the search for the teens. That gag order initially included a phone call made from one of the teens to police, as well as evidence found in a burnt-out car in the Hebron area.
BuzzFeed spoke to an Israeli official involved in the case, who confirmed that during the police call a gunshot can clearly be heard. The car, he added, had clear evidence of foul play. Over the last week. Israeli soldiers could be seen digging through rocks and dredging wells in Hebron in the search for the teens.
“We have been operating, for some time now, with evidence that these boys were killed,” he said. “It is with a heavy heart that we realized we were looking for bodies.”
An Israeli army officer, who spoke to BuzzFeed by phone from the Hebron area, said that an autopsy had not yet been conducted. He said that the bodies of three teens had been found shot, likely very close to the time of their abduction.
The families of the three, however, kept hope that they would be found alive – holding prayer rallies for the safe return of their sons.