(TNND) — Hebron residents woke to a sweeping military lockdown and mass displacement after a Friday attack near the city killed two Israeli soldiers, triggering a broad Israeli operation across the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on Hebron and displaced residents from neighborhoods in the aftermath of the attack, which involved two Palestinian gunmen and an Israeli army reserve base or checkpoint near Hebron. The two gunmen and two Israeli soldiers were killed, and three Israeli soldiers were injured.
Israeli armored vehicles are seen parked outside a Palestinian building in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Displacement estimates varied. Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Ja’bari told Al Jazeera about 2,200 people had been forced from their homes. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said about 2,000 had been displaced. The Hebron municipality earlier estimated about 1,500 people.
Residents said soldiers announced evacuation orders over loudspeakers late at night, leaving little time to prepare. The Hebron municipality said about 35 hectares (86 acres) had been destroyed or marked for demolition, and videos showed homes and vehicles being bulldozed.
Katz said residents would not be allowed to return until the military had finished addressing what he called “all the Hamas issues in Hebron.”
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “full lockdown” of the occupied West Bank, and Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Ja’bari said residents could neither enter nor leave the city. Israeli forces also raided at least 15 West Bank areas, arresting about 70 Palestinians.
Israel said Palestinian workers would be barred from most West Bank areas Sunday and Monday, with crossings closed Tuesday for Israel’s Oct. 27 election.
The Palestinian Authority called the demolitions and closures “collective punishment.” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the restrictions limited Palestinians’ movement and access to services and livelihoods. B’Tselem, an Israeli rights group, said the actions could constitute war crimes.
A pedestrian passes a campaign billboard featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and his main rival, opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot, with a message in Hebrew that reads “The race is tight,” Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli soldiers fired a stun grenade near its journalists covering the operation. Its correspondent said Israeli politicians were seeking to capitalize on the attack ahead of the election.