2006 Gaza cross-border raid
The 2006 Gaza cross-border raid was an armed incursion carried out by seven or eight Gazan Palestinian militants on 25 June 2006 who attacked Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions near the Kerem Shalom Crossing through an attack tunnel. In the attack, two IDF soldiers and two Palestinian militants were killed, four IDF soldiers were wounded, one of whom was Gilad Shalit, who was captured and taken to the Gaza Strip.
| 2006 Gaza cross-border raid | |
|---|---|
| Part of Gaza–Israel conflict | |
| Type | Cross-border raid |
| Location | 31°14′00″N 34°17′08″E |
| Commanded by | Ahmed Jabari (reportedly) |
| Target | IDF army post near the Kerem Shalom border crossing |
| Date | 25 June 2006 Around 5:30 am – (GMT+2) |
| Executed by | 7 or 8 Palestinian militants from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Popular Resistance Committees, and Army of Islam |
| Outcome | Capture of Gilad Shalit |
| Casualties | 2 Palestinian militants and 2 IDF soldiers killed 4 IDF soldiers injured |
Hamas' military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility, together with the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas), and a previously unknown group calling itself the Army of Islam. They stated the raid was in retaliation to an Israeli shelling and a series of air raids that had killed 22 Palestinians earlier that month.
The abduction of Shalit caused Israel to launch Operation "Summer Rains" which consisted of a series of incursions into Gaza. The operation failed to retrieve Shalit who was eventually released on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner swap. It was the first time since the capture of Nachshon Wachsman in 1994 that Palestinian militants had captured an Israeli soldier.