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Israeli forces continued their operation in the West Bank city of Hebron today after launching it yesterday evening, forcing dozens of Palestinian families out of their homes and converting some of the emptied buildings into military positions, local sources said.

The army said the operation, which it expects to last several days, followed a shooting near a checkpoint close to the town of Halhul, north of Hebron. Rights group B'Tselem called on the international community to intervene, describing the displacement and use of homes as a form of ethnic cleansing.

Homes seized and turned into positions

Israeli forces tightened a siege on the El-Jaldeh and Deir Bahha areas west of Hebron, where local sources said dozens of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes. Troops took over some of the emptied properties, raised Israeli flags on them and began using the buildings for military purposes.

Residents who were removed were held in open areas while troops carried out searches and field interrogations, according to local sources. The Walla news site, citing military sources, reported that the evacuated homes were being used to secure roads leading to an Israeli settlement area inside the city. The seizure of the properties has limited families' shelter options and left them without any indication of when they might return.

Operation follows fatal checkpoint shooting

The Israeli army said the assault began after a shooting targeting one of its checkpoints near Halhul. According to Israeli figures, two Israeli soldiers were killed and three people were wounded in that attack. Two Palestinians identified as having carried out the shooting were also killed by Israeli forces.

The army announced that the operation could continue for several days.

Arrests and field interrogations across the West Bank

The Palestinian Prisoners' Society said about 70 Palestinians were detained across the occupied West Bank from Friday until this morning, with some released later. Hundreds more were subjected to field interrogation. Most of those detained were former prisoners who had spent years in Israeli prisons before being released, and people questioned included detainees freed under prisoner exchange agreements.

The society said hundreds of homes in Hebron were raided and dozens of properties were turned into military barracks and interrogation centers. Raids caused damage to homes and belongings, and Palestinians in some areas were forced to leave their residences. Walla also reported that the army expanded detention and search operations in other parts of the West Bank, including Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem.

B'Tselem warns of ethnic cleansing

Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem called for urgent international intervention over the removal of Palestinians from their homes in Hebron and the military use of the properties. The group described the measures as "ethnic cleansing."

B'Tselem warned that practices including the forced displacement of Palestinians, collective punishment and the wide-scale demolition of buildings could amount to war crimes, and urged the international community to act to stop them.

Attacks and movement restrictions continue

Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Israelis seizing Palestinian land continued attacks on Palestinians and farmland. Palestinians harvesting olives were assaulted, and olive trees and cultivated fields were damaged. The army also kept measures restricting Palestinian movement in place, with work reported to have begun on two new iron gates in the Jenin governorate.

Palestinians have faced killings, arrests, home and structure demolitions, damage to farmland, blocked access to their land and forced displacement since the Gaza war began in October 2023, alongside an expansion of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories. Palestinian warnings say these measures could pave the way for Israel's formal annexation of the West Bank and endanger the possibility, set out in relevant UN resolutions, of establishing an independent Palestinian state.

Key takeaways

• Israeli forces forced dozens of Palestinian families out of the El-Jaldeh and Deir Bahha areas of Hebron and turned some homes into military positions
• The army said the operation followed a shooting near Halhul in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and three people were wounded
• The Palestinian Prisoners' Society reported about 70 detentions across the occupied West Bank from Friday to this morning
• B'Tselem called the measures ethnic cleansing and warned they could amount to war crimes