Netanyahu Orders West Bank Lockdown After Deadly Hebron Attack

Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers—Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem—and wounded three to five others during a shooting attack at a military checkpoint near Hebron on October 23, 2026. The Israel Defense Forces killed both assailants, identified as Hamouda and Firas Jaaba, after a 20-minute gunfight. Military officials stated the attackers carried large quantities of ammunition, suggesting they planned a larger assault on civilian traffic along Route 35.

In response, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate cordon of Hebron and preparations for a full lockdown of the West Bank. He announced an unprecedented military operation, comparing its potential scale to the 1967 Six-Day War. The offensive involved house-to-house searches, mass arrests, and the demolition of homes and businesses. In Hebron, the military forcibly displaced between 1,200 and 2,600 Palestinians from the al-Jalda and Ein Deir Bahha neighborhoods, converting some seized properties into military barracks. Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the "Jenin refugee camp model" would be applied to Hebron, noting that displaced residents would not return until Hamas issues in the city were resolved.

The escalation occurred four days before Israel's national elections on October 27. The government subsequently banned Palestinian workers from entering Israeli communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley, and ordered the closure of all land crossings on election day. While Hamas praised the attack as a "heroic operation," far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir used the event to demand the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority. The United Nations and human rights groups condemned the measures as collective punishment and potential war crimes.