Start date June 24, 2006 | ||
The Muamar family detention incident occurred very early on the morning of June 24, 2006, in the first taking of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) since the Israeli disengagement from Gaza one year earlier, when IDF soldiers entered the house of the Muamar family in a village near Rafah, at 03:30 local time (00:30 UTC) and detained Osama and Mustafa Muamar. The BBC reports the village name as Umm al-Nasser.
Ali Muamar, father of the two men detained, Osama Muamar and Mustafa Muamar, stated "They blindfolded and handcuffed me and started beating me up with the butts of their rifles and kicking me". He stated that a computer was taken and that the whole incident lasted for about an hour.
An Israeli spokesman confirmed the detentions, said that both men were members of the militant group Hamas intending to carry out imminent attacks on Israel and stated "These Palestinians were transferred to Israel where they will be questioned". A spokesman for Hamas confirmed that the brothers were sons of a member but denied that the men detained were involved in Hamas.
This event was followed by the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on June 25, 2006 and further incidents in the 2006 Gaza–Israel conflict.