Israel ordered the immediate closure of the West Bank city of Hebron and prepared for a full lockdown across the territory after a shooting attack near the city left two Israeli soldiers dead and others wounded, officials said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency security meeting on Friday, 23 October, and instructed the Israel Defence Forces and security forces to impose the closure on Hebron at once, according to statements carried by multiple outlets. He also cancelled his party’s campaign events for the day.
The attack took place at a junction near Hebron on Friday morning. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire, killing two soldiers and wounding three others, according to the Israeli military. The two attackers, both reported to be 27-year-old residents of Hebron, were shot dead by troops after an exchange of gunfire.
Soldiers killed at checkpoint
The gunmen attacked an Israeli army reserve base checkpoint near Hebron, according to the military. An AFP journalist at the scene witnessed the gunfight near a petrol station, and the military said soldiers from the Ari Battalion killed both attackers after a shootout reported to have lasted about 20 minutes.
Emergency service Magen David Adom said five people were wounded in the attack, two of them critically, in early reports. Later military accounts confirmed two soldiers killed and three wounded. Hamas praised the attack as a heroic operation but did not claim responsibility.
Netanyahu orders Hebron siege
Netanyahu said security forces would carry out extensive waves of arrests and pursue Hamas everywhere and at all times. Defence Minister Israel Katz said about 2,000 residents displaced from their homes in Hebron would not be allowed to return until Israel had finished dealing with Hamas issues in the city.
Hebron’s mayor, Yousef Jaabari, told Middle East Eye the city was a disaster zone, and said hundreds of Palestinians had been expelled from their homes. Hebron municipal officials put the number forced from their homes higher, at about 2,200, including families from Deir Bahha and surrounding neighbourhoods.
Election four days away
The attack landed four days before Israel’s general election on Tuesday, 27 October, a vote widely seen as consequential and expected to be tightly fought. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir demanded the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, although officials presented no evidence linking the PA leadership to the shooting.
West Bank violence has been rising since October 2023, and the Hebron operation is now one of the largest security operations in the territory in recent years. The closure’s duration has not been announced.
