Israel Begins Demolitions in Hebron Neighborhood After Gunmen Kill Two Soldiers, Days Before National Election

Israeli forces began demolishing buildings and ordering residents out of a neighborhood in Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Friday, hours after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli military checkpoint and killed two soldiers, CNN reported. Three more soldiers were lightly wounded, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Both gunmen were shot and killed, the IDF said, according to CNN. Videos from the scene showed a firefight that lasted at least several minutes; in one Reuters video cited by CNN, an Israeli responder shouted that the shooting had gone on for at least 20 minutes and that responders were struggling to reach the wounded. The army said the gunmen carried an M16 rifle and a handgun, NPR reported.

Emergency responders said gunfire was still ongoing when they arrived near the Yehuda Junction, according to NPR, and that five people were injured, some critically. "We arrived at a difficult scene while shooting was still taking place in the area," said Tzuriel Edri of the response team.

The IDF said it found a vehicle used by the gunmen that was filled with "a large quantity" of ammunition, CNN reported. "This was a serious terror attack," said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. He said the ammunition was intended to be used "to carry out an attack on a much larger scale" and that the military would make further arrests and increase intelligence operations in the area.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Hamas, saying the group was "planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians," according to NPR. Hamas praised the attack in a statement but did not claim responsibility, CNN reported. "We will pursue Hamas terrorists and those who sent them, wherever they are and at all times," Netanyahu said.

The IDF said it was imposing "a full siege" on Hebron, and Netanyahu's office said he had ordered security forces to cordon off the city and prepare a full closure of the West Bank starting Friday, according to CNN and NPR. Hours later, Netanyahu appeared to scale back the full closure, saying he would consider "a cordon" around Hebron and the nearby town of Halhul that could extend to other areas, CNN reported.

Netanyahu also said the military would forcibly evacuate the area the attackers came from and "transform it completely," using the approach applied in the Jenin, Tulkarm, Nur Shams and Al-Far'a refugee camps in early 2025, which displaced thousands of Palestinians, according to CNN. "We will evacuate the residents, go house to house, remove weapons found there, and address and destroy all terrorist infrastructure," he said.

By Friday afternoon, demolitions had begun in the Farsh al-Hawa area of Hebron. In a video obtained by CNN, an Israeli soldier tells residents of a housing complex, "You have five minutes to evacuate." A joint IDF and Israel Security Agency statement said a counterterrorism operation lasting several days had begun, that residents could leave through three designated exit points subject to questioning and security screening, and that "illegal structures that could pose a security threat" were being demolished.

The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem condemned the plan to "forcibly displace Palestinian residents." "Israel is announcing its next crimes in advance," executive director Yuli Novak said, according to CNN, adding that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz intended to "repeat the mass displacement and destruction inflicted on the northern West Bank refugee camps."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the attack showed Israel needs to restrict Palestinians' freedom of movement in the territory. "The lives of the residents of Judea and Samaria, of the settlers, the lives of the soldiers, the lives of the police officers, the lives of our fighters are a million times more important than freedom of movement," he said, according to NPR.

The army said it also conducted dozens of operations across the West Bank on Friday and detained dozens of people, including people affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and found weapons including M16 rifles and submachine guns, NPR reported. It was the fourth time in the past month that Israel has imposed restrictions across the territory, closing gates and checkpoints connecting Palestinian villages to major roads, while Israeli roads remain open to Israeli drivers, including settlers, according to NPR.

The attack came four days before Israelis vote on Tuesday in the first national election since the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, CNN reported. Netanyahu has said, without providing evidence, that Hamas could attack in a bid to influence the outcome, according to NPR. His main rival, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, wrote on X that he prayed "for the full and speedy recovery of those wounded in the attack."