IDF operation in Hebron displaces 1,500 Palestinians overnight ahead of Knesset elections

An ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Hebron has displaced around 1,500 Palestinians since Friday’s shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, according to Palestinian officials. The operation, which has seen more than 200 families forced from their homes, has left dozens spending the night outdoors, as reported by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin.

The governorate has declared a state of emergency and is setting up a crisis management committee to assist displaced families. Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari told WAFA that Israeli forces were preparing to displace another 2,500 people from two areas of the city. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately comment on the reported displacement but stated its operation was expected to last several days and would remain “focused and limited to the area from which the terrorists operated.”

The military said residents in the affected neighbourhoods could leave through three designated exit points after questioning and security checks. Anyone raising suspicion during the checks would be taken for further questioning. In Ein Dir Baha, a neighbourhood between two hills, buildings had been marked with Xs to indicate that they had been cleared of residents. Streets were largely deserted, apart from Israeli military vehicles, and an Israeli flag hung from a house apparently occupied by troops.

Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi, a 70-year-old shopkeeper who sells live chickens and animal feed and holds a leadership role in the neighbourhood, told reporters that soldiers woke him at 1am and ordered him and other residents to leave. He said he had only two hours to pack clothes and official documents. Many families without vehicles were left scrambling to find accommodation with relatives elsewhere. Tamimi accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using the operation for political gains ahead of Tuesday’s national election.

“This is happening because Netanyahu wants to win,” he said. “He wants to win it with the blood of the Palestinian people. But we won’t go anywhere.”

The Israeli operation followed a shooting attack on Friday in which two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a temporary military checkpoint near Hebron, killing two soldiers and wounding three others in a gunfight that lasted more than 20 minutes. Israeli troops killed both attackers. The soldiers were identified as Staff Sgt Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon. The gunmen were identified as Mohammad Jaaba and Firas Jaaba, both 27-year-old Hebron residents and members of the same family. The IDF said its preliminary investigation indicated that they had intended to attack Israeli civilians on a nearby road but opened fire at the checkpoint instead.

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