WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday alleged that Israel had targeted members of a Palestinian family whose teenaged son was kidnapped and killed in July along with two cousins, who are US citizens.

Tensions between Palestinians and Israelis in annexed east Jerusalem plunged to a new low on July 2 when 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khder was snatched from an east Jerusalem street and later found burned alive.

Israeli police arrested six alleged Jewish extremists as suspects and on July 17 charged three, freeing the others.

The death of the Palestinian teen -- thought likely in retaliation for the abduction and killing of three Israeli Students in late June -- sparked rioting and helped unleash the conflict under way in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Three days after his death, on July 5, the United States slammed Israel's arrest of a 15-year-old cousin, Tarek Abu Khder, 15, a US citizen. He was beaten in detention and has since been freed and returned to Florida.

On July 28, another cousin of Abu Khdeir, also American, was arrested in Israel as well, the State Department said Wednesday.

Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf identified him as “Mohammed Abu Khdeir," which would mean his name is the same as his murdered cousin's.

“We can confirm that Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a US citizen, was arrested on July 28. The US consulate general in Jerusalem is providing consular assistance. A consular official visited him on August 14th. The consulate is also in contact with Mr. Khdeir's family and his lawyer,” Harf said.

Yet “we are concerned that the US consulate general in Jerusalem was not notified of his arrest by the government of Israel. And we are also concerned about the fact that members of the Khdeir family appeared to be singled out for arrest by the Israeli authorities,” Harf added.

Hamas says three senior commanders killed in Gaza

An Israeli air strike killed three senior Hamas military commanders in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the militant group said, the clearest sign yet Israel is focusing its assault on those leading attacks from the Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on what would constitute the killing of the most senior Hamas men since it launched its offensive on Gaza six week ago with the declared aim of curbing rocket fire into its territory.

Hamas, which dominates the Gaza Strip, named the men as Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum and said they were killed in a bombing of a house in the southern town of Rafah.

A military spokeswoman said aircraft carried out 20 assaults in Gaza on Thursday, but gave no further details.

Late on Tuesday Israel targetted Hamas's top military commander, Mohammed Deif, but failed to kill him. Deif's wife and seven-month-old son were killed in the air strike, Hamas said.

Egyptian-mediated talks to end weeks of deadly fighting between Israel, Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza collapsed on Tuesday when violence broke out after ten days of relative calm.

Palestinian health officials said 2,050 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting.

Israel says it has killed hundreds of Palestinian militants in the conflict, which the United Nations says has displaced about 425,000 people. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have been killed.