The Israeli military raided the Jerusalem home of a Hamas member released as part of an exchange for Israelis being held hostage in Gaza, detaining one person and roughing up others on Saturday evening, including a New York Times reporter conducting interviews at the scene.
A squad of soldiers forced its way into the house on the outskirts of Jerusalem and disrupted an event marking the early release of Ashraf Zughayer, a Hamas member imprisoned in 2002 for driving terrorists to the locations of their attacks. Among them was a suicide bomber who killed six civilians by blowing up a bus. According to court documents, Mr. Zughayer confessed to the charges.
Mr. Zughayer, 46, was released on Saturday afternoon along with 199 other prisoners.
Overseen by a colonel, the soldiers entered the Zughayer family’s building with their rifles raised and assaulted several people, including Mr. Zughayer’s father and a Times reporter conducting interviews. The soldiers detained Mr. Zughayer’s brother and expelled journalists, then left about an hour later.
For years, Israeli security services have discouraged and often broken up family events celebrating the release of Palestinian militants, saying that the gatherings provoke unrest, lionize terrorists and inspire support for violence. Critics say the interventions increase Palestinian antipathy for Israel, prolonging a cycle of violence.
Israel has been particularly assertive in suppressing celebrations for detainees released under the terms of the cease-fire in Gaza. Israeli officials are concerned that they may help bolster the popularity of Hamas, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed up to 1,200 people. Dozens of the Palestinians released on Saturday were sent into exile in Egypt instead of being allowed to return home, in part for that reason.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had raided the Zughayer family’s house because it “received intelligence and videos of gunfire and incitement to terrorism in the area.” The statement said that the soldiers had been acting to “neutralize the threat of fire” and that they had raised their weapons at “armed individuals.” An Israeli military official said the brother had been detained for displaying a Hamas flag.
Earlier that day, footage circulating on social media showed Mr. Zughayer wearing a Hamas scarf and being paraded in a car through his neighborhood, surrounded by a group of other men carrying Hamas flags — an action that is barred in Israel.
By the time reporters for The New York Times arrived in the neighborhood several hours later, the situation was calm. They saw Mr. Zughayer briefly wearing a slim Hamas scarf before a child ran off with it, roughly an hour before the raid. A second child who wore a cape bearing a Hamas logo left the house around the same time.
The roughly two dozen other attendees, including several small children, wore unmarked clothes and there were no flags on display. No one was armed, and Mr. Zughayer’s brother did not display a Hamas flag, the reporters said.
The home is owned by Mr. Zughayer’s father, Munir Zughayer, who is a well-known community organizer. Munir Zughayer liaises between residents of the impoverished neighborhood and the Jerusalem municipal leadership, as well as between the families of Palestinians in prison and the Israeli prison authorities. He said that he was not a member of Hamas.
After bursting into the family’s compound around 5:30 p.m., the soldiers moved through the yard, where the gathering was held, without stopping to assess the situation or the people inside, the reporters said.
One soldier immediately used the muzzle of his loaded rifle to strike Aaron Boxerman, a Times reporter who happened to be standing close to the yard entrance. Before Mr. Boxerman had a chance to identify himself, the soldier hit him in the rib cage, leaving a large bruise.
A second Times reporter, Natan Odenheimer, then identified himself as a journalist, video recorded by The Times shows. The same soldier told Mr. Odenheimer that he didn’t care, using an expletive to underscore his point. The soldier then pointed his loaded rifle at Mr. Odenheimer again, the video shows.
The soldiers also aimed their rifles at other attendees. The video shows the attendees quickly complying with the soldiers’ commands and appearing to pose no threat. The soldiers yelled profanities at Mr. Zughayer’s relatives; and shoved his father in the chest.
The military said in a statement that it regretted “any harm caused to journalists during operational activity,” and that it did not aim to target “uninvolved civilians, or journalists as such.” It said it was investigating the incident.
A spokesperson for The Times said it had lodged a protest with the Israeli military over the assault on Mr. Boxerman.
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