"The enemy will pay a tremendous price," Hamas vowed through a spokesman following the Israeli regime’s early Monday morning aerial bombardment of the impoverished Palestinian enclave.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri further blamed Tel Aviv for a “grave escalation” of violence and promised retaliatory response, saying Israel “will pay the price.”

The group said its men were killed by an Israeli airstrike on a tunnel used by Hamas members.

Two more militants from a different group were also killed in a separate strike. The Israeli military claimed they were involved in rocket attacks on southern Israeli communities.

The Israeli regime further alleged that Palestinian fighters fired 25 rockets into the occupied territories on Sunday. The rocket launches were reportedly in retaliation for the regime’s escalation of attacks, intimidation and arrests against Palestinians residents in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Tensions heightened between Palestinians and Israelis after the burning alive of a Palestinian teen in East al-Quds last week. The 16-year-old teenager, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, was bundled into a car and later burnt to death by Israeli settlers.

His death has sparked a wave of protests across the Palestinian territories. The Israeli regime announced the arrest of six Jewish settlers in connection with the murder after American authorities reacted angrily to the horrible incident and the subsequent brutal beating of another teenage protester by Israeli police officers.

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