Israeli forces demolish homes in Hebron, displacing over 1,000 Palestinians

What is happening in Hebron

The Israeli military has begun a sweeping crackdown in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, demolishing homes and businesses and displacing hundreds of families, according to local officials cited by the BBC. Footage shared online showed damage from Israeli bulldozers, and at least one whole street appeared to have been flattened.

The military has also cordoned off the city, sharply restricting movement for its roughly 200,000 residents, the BBC reported.

Hebron's mayor, Youssef al-Jaabari, said more than 1,000 people had been displaced. He said the operation centered on the Ein Deir Baha and Farsh al-Hawa neighborhoods and targeted homes, businesses, industrial sites and infrastructure. Reuters put the number of displaced Palestinians at around 1,200. The city's governor and deputy mayor said at least 200 families had been displaced.

Families forced out overnight

Al-Jaabari said dozens of families had been forced to spend the night outside. Some were told to leave without taking their vehicles, and homes were marked for demolition with spray paint. He said he believed the military planned to displace a total of 2,500 people from about 0.35 sq km of urban land.

The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment. In a statement on social media, it said it had dozens of targets across the West Bank and that its operations would last several days.

The attack and Netanyahu's response

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the operation on Friday after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers in an attack on a checkpoint. Three other soldiers were injured, and both gunmen were killed.

Netanyahu said buildings around the attack site and the neighborhoods the gunmen came from would be "destroyed". He traveled to Hebron wearing protective armor and posted a video from the scene. "We will evacuate the residents, go house to house, remove the weapons we find there, and deal with and destroy all terrorist infrastructure," he said.

He also said he had reviewed plans for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967, without saying when it might happen. The BBC noted it is unclear whether the Hebron operation is part of those plans. He likened the Hebron action to earlier operations in Palestinian refugee camps in the north of the territory, where the Israeli military demolished hundreds of homes and displaced tens of thousands in 2025.

Political reaction and election backdrop

Demolishing the homes of Palestinians suspected of attacks on Israelis is common practice, the BBC noted. Israeli rights groups have criticized it as collective punishment. The Guardian used that phrase in describing the Hebron operation.

In an interview with Israel's i24 television channel, released Saturday, Netanyahu threatened "a very big surprise" for the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank. The Authority called for "urgent international action that went beyond condemnation" to prevent further forced displacement.

Far-right ministers pressed for more. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged a West Bank campaign "exactly like in Gaza or Lebanon," while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority.

The attack came with Israel's general election four days away, according to the BBC. Netanyahu has built his campaign on promises of security and canceled his party's campaign events on Friday morning to go to Hebron. Al-Jaabari told journalists the operation was "driven by the elections," and said Netanyahu and his ministers were trying to win the votes of the far right and settlers.