Israeli Forces Displace Hundreds in Hebron Following Military Operation

Israeli forces displaced Palestinians and demolished multiple homes in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron following a checkpoint attack that killed two Israeli soldiers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a siege on Hebron and neighboring Halhul, ordering the forced removal of residents from the attackers’ home neighborhoods in what human rights advocates describe as an act of collective punishment.

Military Siege and Forced Evacuations in Hebron

The military operation began late on Friday after two Palestinian men armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint near Hebron, killing two soldiers and injuring three others before being killed in a gunfight, as reported by The Guardian. Dawn reported that forces pushed into the city and displaced around 250 families, with residents stating that soldiers used loudspeakers late at night to announce evacuations and order them to leave immediately. The army was announcing through loudspeakers: Leave the area. So we left, said Higazi Shawer Al Tamimi, a 70-year-old shopkeeper who sells live chickens and feed and plays a leadership role in the neighbourhood, after being awakened at 1:00am by soldiers and a senior officer who told him he had to leave.

WAFA Agency reported that Israeli authorities forced about 1,500 Palestinians to evacuate their homes in the Deir Bahha and al-Jalda areas, while the Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari stated that plans target around 2,500 more people across approximately 350 dunams, or 35 hectares. Soldiers marked vacated buildings with “X” symbols and blocked the junction and main road leading to the village of Kharsa using earth mounds and concrete blocks, according to WAFA. Palestinian homes marked with an X by the Israeli army after evacuation were seen in Hebron on Oct 24, 2026.

Legal Challenges and International Condemnation

The operation drew immediate criticism from human rights groups, the United Nations, and Palestinian officials, who condemned the actions as collective punishment. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed an urgent petition on behalf of local factory owners, arguing that the demolitions violate international law and Israeli administrative law, as reported by The Guardian. What we saw today was an attempt to copy the illegal practices used in Gaza, in the heart of the West Bank, Dahleh said. Leading Israeli lawyer Michael Sfard stated that remarks by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich amounted to a direct admission that the demolitions were intended as collective punishment. They want to wipe out entire areas exactly as they did in Gaza and the refugee camps in the West Bank, Sfard said.

Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin called for urgent international and legal intervention to halt the violations and assist the displaced families, many of whom spent the night outdoors. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera noted that the Prisoners’ Society reported the arrest of around 70 people across the West Bank between Friday and early Saturday, alongside the interrogation of hundreds more amid widespread anxiety and fear of expanded operations modeled on past tactics used in Tulkarem and Jenin.

Broader West Bank Escalation and Olive Harvest Disruption

The operation in Hebron coincides with heightened tensions and violence across the occupied West Bank during the annual olive harvest season. The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission recorded 409 attacks by Israeli forces or settlers against Palestinian farmers, agricultural equipment, and olive trees during October, according to Al Jazeera. Settlers also stormed the villages of Yabrud and Al Mughayyir to graze sheep on agricultural lands and damage crops.

The Guardian reported that more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the October 7, 2023, attacks led by Hamas. Itamar Ben-Gvir traveled to Hebron on Friday to demand the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and increased restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement, according to the same report.

Future Operations and Political Context

Prime Minister Netanyahu announced plans for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967, promising further mass displacement and demolitions in Hebron alongside settlement expansion, though no specific date for the broader offensive has been set, according to The Guardian. Dawn reported that the current military actions unfold just days before tight elections, where polls show Netanyahu running neck-and-neck with an opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot.

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