Case file
2006 Gaza cross-border raid
On the morning of 25 June 2006, a squad of seven or eight Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip crossed into Israel through a roughly 300-meter tunnel dug near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. The group split into three cells and attacked Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions, including a Merkava Mark III tank, a watchtower, and an armored personnel carrier used as a decoy, while other militants inside Gaza provided covering mortar and anti-tank fire.
During the assault, militants disabled the tank with an RPG, killed its commander and driver as they tried to escape suffocating conditions inside the vehicle, and wounded other crew members. Corporal Gilad Shalit, the tank's gunner, was wounded and subsequently taken into Gaza by the militants. Two Israeli soldiers, Staff Sergeant Pavel Slutzker and Lieutenant Hanan Barak, both 20 years old, were killed in the attack. Two militants — identified as Muhammed Farawneh of the Army of Islam and Hamed Rantisi of the Popular Resistance Committees — were killed by IDF fire during the raid. Additional IDF soldiers were wounded, and three more were lightly injured by explosive charges left behind by the retreating militants.
Responsibility for the raid, described by the attackers as "Operation Dispersive Illusion," was jointly claimed by Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees, and a previously unknown group called the Army of Islam. The groups said the attack was carried out in retaliation for an Israeli shelling and preceding air strikes that had killed 22 Palestinians earlier that month, including the assassination of Jamal Abu Samhadana on 8 June 2006.
Shalit's captors initially offered information about him in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and minors held in Israeli detention; Israel rejected this and subsequent demands, including a call for the release of 1,000 prisoners. On 28 June 2006, Israel launched Operation "Summer Rains," a series of military incursions into Gaza intended to secure Shalit's release, alongside the arrest of numerous Hamas officials in the West Bank. The operation did not recover Shalit and concluded on 26 November 2006 with a ceasefire agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Shalit remained in captivity for over five years. In October 2009, Israel received a video of him in exchange for releasing 20 Palestinian prisoners. He was ultimately released on 18 October 2011 as part of a larger prisoner exchange. Hamas commander Abu Jibril Shimali, whom Israel held responsible for coordinating the abduction, was killed in 2009 during clashes in Gaza, and Raed al-Atar, described as having directed the raid, was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.
Key facts
- Victims
- Hanan Barak, Pavel Slutzker, Muhammed Farawneh, Hamed Rantisi, Gilad Shalit
- Date
- 2005
- Location
- Kerem Shalom Crossing area, Israel–Gaza border
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
2005-02
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announce a ceasefire ending the Second Intifada.
2005-09
Israel withdraws from Gaza under Sharon's direction.
2006-01
Hamas wins Palestinian elections.
2006-06-08
Jamal Abu Samhadana, founder of the Popular Resistance Committees, is killed in an Israeli air strike; three other Palestinians also killed.
2006-06-09
Palestinian fighters fire rockets into southern Israel; a subsequent explosion, attributed by the IDF to its shelling, kills a Palestinian family of eight. Hamas withdraws from its ceasefire.
2006-06-25
Palestinian militants attack IDF positions near Kerem Shalom Crossing via tunnel; two Israeli soldiers and two militants killed; Gilad Shalit is wounded and captured.
2006-06-26
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Popular Resistance Committees, and Army of Islam jointly claim responsibility and demand release of Palestinian women and minors held in Israeli jails.
2006-06-28
Israel launches Operation Summer Rains; IDF arrests dozens of Hamas leaders in the West Bank, including parliament members and ministers.
2006-07-01
Shalit's captors demand release of an additional 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and an end to Israeli incursions into Gaza.
2006-07-03
Captors issue a 24-hour ultimatum; Israel formally rejects it.
2006-11-26
Operation Summer Rains ends with a ceasefire agreement between Olmert and Abbas.
2009-08
Hamas commander Abu Jibril Shimali is killed during clashes between Hamas and Jund Ansar Allah in Gaza.
2009-10-02
Israel receives a video of Gilad Shalit in exchange for releasing 20 Palestinian prisoners.
2011-10-18
Gilad Shalit is released in a prisoner exchange.
2014
Raed al-Atar, described as having directed the raid, is killed in an Israeli airstrike during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.
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People
Hanan Barak
VICTIMIDF Lieutenant, 20, of Arad, killed during the raid.
Pavel Slutzker
VICTIMIDF Staff Sergeant, 20, of Dimona, killed during the raid.
Muhammed Farawneh
VICTIM22-year-old Army of Islam member from Khan Yunis, killed by IDF fire during the raid.
Hamed Rantisi
VICTIM22-year-old Popular Resistance Committees member from Rafah, killed by IDF fire during the raid.
Gilad Shalit
VICTIMIDF tank gunner wounded and captured during the raid; held in Gaza until his release in a 2011 prisoner exchange.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- On 25 June 2006, Palestinian militants used a tunnel to attack Israeli military positions near the Kerem Shalom Crossing, killing two IDF soldiers and capturing wounded soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held in Gaza until his release in a 2011 prisoner exchange.
- Where did the crime happen?
- Kerem Shalom Crossing area, Israel–Gaza border.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
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Sources
- 2006 Gaza cross-border raidwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — SFGatenews · SFGate · 2026-07-07