The Morning Gilad Shalit Was Taken: IDF Releases Real-Time Operations Logs From the Abduction

Twenty years after Gilad Shalit was abducted, the IDF Archive at Israel’s Defense Ministry released this morning (Thursday), for the first time, the official operations logs from the Southern Brigade command center from the day of the attack. The documents record, in real time, how events unfolded along the Gaza border—from the first reports of explosions and gunfire near Kerem Shalom, through the deployment of rescue forces and the pursuit, to the formation of the understanding that an IDF soldier had been abducted into the Gaza Strip.

On the morning of June 25, 2006, a Hamas terror cell infiltrated from the Gaza Strip through a terror tunnel dug beneath the security route. The terrorists attacked an armored force operating near Kerem Shalom, and during the battle, Lieutenant Hanan Barak and Staff Sergeant Pavel Slutsker, of blessed memory, were killed. Additional soldiers were wounded, and amid the fighting, the terrorists managed to abduct Gilad Shalit and quickly take him beyond the security fence.

(קרדיט: דובר צה״ל)

According to the newly released documentation, at 5:13 a.m. the command center received the first report of multiple explosions in the area. At first, forces believed they were dealing with mortar shells or rocket impacts.

Just one minute later, the operations log already recorded: "There are casualties." Shortly afterward, reports began coming in about attack helicopters being scrambled, special forces being activated, and terrorists being identified inside the positions and trenches in the area.

At 6:40 a.m., one of the most significant lines of that day appeared in the log: "A soldier is missing from the tank." Four minutes later, the "Hannibal" procedure—intended to deal with abduction incidents—was officially documented.

The searches on the ground continued alongside the intelligence effort. At 7:12 a.m., forces reported finding a helmet and body armor on the security fence, but noted that no drag marks had been found. By 8:00 a.m., the log stated unequivocally: "Name of the abducted soldier: Gilad Shalit."

As the day went on, additional findings began to accumulate. Nearly two hours after the initial identification, it was reported that "inside the area there is identification of footprints belonging both to the terrorists and to the soldier who was abducted."

By midday, the command center was updated that "the body armor of the abducted soldier was found with the trackers’ officer, and bloodstains and shrapnel were found on it."

The documents now being released also reflect the uncertainty that shaped the situation assessments during those hours. In a status summary written that afternoon, it says: "The soldier is probably alive, it is not known where he is, it may be that he is not in our area, the attack was carried out by Hamas. They have been rolling out this attack for about three weeks and it is not connected to the operation or to the events that took place in the Strip... it could develop into a broad escalation because of the abducted soldier... it is possible that the abducted soldier is no longer in our sector and is farther north."

At 4:34 p.m., the commander of the force operating at the scene reported that he had definitively identified Shalit’s footprints near the place where forces believed the entrance shaft to the infiltration tunnel was located. About an hour later, the log recorded another report that raised concern among security officials: "A rumor is circulating that the abducted soldier was transferred through a tunnel to Egypt in order to keep him more secure and bargain over his return. The reliability of the information is unclear."

(קרדיט: דובר צה״ל)