AI-generated illustration

The Israeli army has forced roughly 2,200 Palestinians from their homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, demolishing houses and businesses and closing the city's entrances and exits, Hebron Mayor Yusuf al-Jaberi said.

The operation, launched on October 23 in parts of the Deir Bahha and Jalda areas west of the city, has emptied streets, shut schools and universities and halted waste collection, while more than 380 families have left their homes, according to a local relief committee.

Forced removals and demolitions in the city's west

The Israeli military has expelled Palestinians from an area of about 330,000 square metres in the Deir Bahha and Jalda neighbourhoods since the assault began on October 23, al-Jaberi told the AA news agency. The area contains more than 495 homes, including apartment buildings, the mayor said.

Al-Jaberi said the army had destroyed five commercial and industrial facilities and one three-storey residential building. Israeli troops surrounded the two neighbourhoods and used loudspeakers to order residents to leave their homes, and children, women, young people and older residents were among those forced out.

Some families refused to leave and were removed by force when troops raided their homes, al-Jaberi said. The army also ordered people living in apartment blocks to vacate, and those expelled did not know where they could go, he said.

Siege halts movement, schools and municipal services

Al-Jaberi said the army closed Hebron's entrances, preventing Palestinians from entering or leaving, then surrounded residential districts and forced inhabitants out. Israeli forces also closed the Ibrahimi Mosque and prevented prayers and the call to prayer there, while military units and vehicles were deployed at various points across the city.

"Because of the siege and the restrictions on the movement of residents, Hebron's streets have been almost completely emptied of pedestrians and vehicles," the mayor said. He described Israeli practices as "a collective punishment policy targeting Palestinians and affecting every aspect of their lives."

The closures disrupted education as well. Hebron's education directorate suspended classes at schools on Sunday and Monday, while Hebron University and Al-Quds Open University decided to hold Sunday's lessons remotely. Municipal garbage trucks could not reach the dumping sites outside the city, and waste began to pile up across Hebron, al-Jaberi said.

Factories close and economic activity stalls

Hundreds of factories in Hebron and nearby villages have shut because workers cannot reach their workplaces and goods can hardly enter or leave the city, al-Jaberi said. The army has continued demolishing commercial and industrial facilities and homes since October 23, and Israeli media have reported that other buildings in the city could also be demolished.

The Hebron municipality declared a state of emergency on the Friday when the assault began and has been working with Palestinian institutions to help families who were forced to leave, the mayor said. The municipality is trying to provide shelter for the displaced and to meet the needs of residents in damaged neighbourhoods, and is tracking damage to roads, water networks and sewage systems.

Al-Jaberi accused the Israeli authorities of using the assault to intensify measures against Hebron's residents and noted that the escalation came before Israeli elections planned for October 27. In his account, the escalation aims to increase far-right support among Israelis who seize Palestinian land.

Relief committee counts more than 380 displaced families

Riyad Hamis, media official for the Aid and Support Committee that helps affected families in Hebron, said more than 380 Palestinian families had been forced to leave their homes in the Deir Bahha, Jalda and Khirbet al-Maghariba areas. The three areas form adjoining neighbourhoods that make up a single geographical unit and lie in Area A, which the Oslo agreements place under the Palestinian Authority's civil and security control, Hamis said.

The targeted neighbourhoods are far from Israeli settlements, settlement outposts and settler roads, Hamis said. The Fers al-Hawa area at Hebron's northwestern entrance suffered widespread damage after the assault, affecting homes as well as commercial businesses and media outlets, according to Hamis.

Israeli forces destroyed a three-storey residential building and commercial facilities in that area and emptied some businesses, Hamis said. Fers al-Hawa sits by one of the city's main entrances, and closing that entrance and other roads into Hebron has made movement of residents and vehicles even harder.

A committee bringing together public institutions, civil society groups and local organisations has been formed in the Hebron governorate to help affected families, Hamis said. It has begun registering displaced families through an electronic form recording family size, the situation of children and sick members, and contact details, in order to identify needs and deliver aid, while also documenting the ongoing evacuations and damage to homes and businesses.

Operation followed an attack at a checkpoint

The military assault and siege began after a shooting attack at an Israeli checkpoint in the Fers al-Hawa area at Hebron's northwestern entrance on October 23. According to Israeli sources, two Israeli soldiers were killed and three were wounded in that attack, and the two Palestinians who carried it out were killed by the Israeli army.

The Israeli army announced that the operation and siege in Hebron could last several days. Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz, in a statement yesterday evening, argued that about 2,000 Palestinians removed from their homes in Hebron would not be able to return until Israel dismantled structures it describes as Hamas "infrastructure" in the city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened after the assault to launch a military operation in the occupied West Bank on a scale not seen since the 1967 war. The developments in Hebron follow rising military raids across the occupied West Bank since the attacks on the Gaza Strip began in October 2023, including killings and arrests of Palestinians, demolition of homes and businesses, destruction of farmland and forced displacement.

Key takeaways

• The Israeli army has forced about 2,200 Palestinians from their homes in the Deir Bahha and Jalda areas of Hebron since October 23, the city's mayor says.
• More than 495 homes stand in the affected area, and five commercial and industrial facilities plus a three-storey residential building have been demolished.
• Closures of the city's entrances have emptied the streets, suspended schooling, halted garbage collection and shut hundreds of factories.
• More than 380 families have left their homes, a local relief committee says, and the army has said the operation may last several days.