 After crossing the border via the tunnel, the militants, backed by mortar and anti-tank fire from within the Gaza Strip, split into three groups to attack a watch tower, an empty armored personnel carrier, and a Merkava Mark III tank.The militants managed to blow open the tank's rear doors with a rocket-propelled grenade fired from point-blank range and afterwards tossed hand grenades inside the tank.Two crew members were killed by the grenades, another team member was seriously wounded, while the fourth team member, Corporal Gilad Shalit, was taken from the tank at gunpoint.