The Israeli military placed major restrictions on movement across the occupied West Bank on Sunday, sealing Hebron and displacing hundreds of residents following a fatal gun attack. Friday’s shooting in Hebron killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others, igniting a sweeping security operation ahead of Israel’s upcoming elections.
More than 2,200 people, including nearly 200 children under the age of 18, have been displaced from their homes in Hebron over the last two days, according to the municipal government. All entrances and exits to the city have remained sealed since Friday, with military raids concentrated in the Deir Bahha and Al-Jalda neighborhoods, Hebron Mayor Yousef Zuhair Al-Jabari said.
“People cannot reach or enter the city, and they cannot leave it,” Al-Jabari said, describing a blockade that has disrupted daily life across the municipality.
Israeli soldiers raided numerous homes and prevented members of the press from covering the operations in Hebron on Oct. 25, 2026.
Military Raids and Border Closures
The Israeli military reported operating in more than 400 different locations over the weekend. Security forces arrested 40 Palestinians whom the military accused of being affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Alongside the internal blockades, the military announced that most Palestinian workers holding permits will be barred from entering Israeli settlements for work on Sunday and Monday. Crossings into Israel will remain completely closed until after Tuesday’s Israeli elections.
The election functions largely as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership and security policies over the past three years of war. Violence in the West Bank has surged during this period, with six Israelis killed in attacks this year. Concurrently, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 112 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank over the same timeframe.
Political Repercussions and Regional Tensions
Friday’s attack triggered immediate outrage in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu, joined by three members of his right-wing government, delivered statements from the site of the attack on Friday afternoon to vow a forceful military response.
“We warned a few weeks ago about attempts by our enemies to harm us, our citizens and our soldiers ahead of the election,” Netanyahu said. “We will act to destroy this place.”
Netanyahu, who is running for reelection next week with an endorsement from President Trump, faces intense pressure to project strength to Israeli voters focused on security. The West Bank is home to roughly 3 million Palestinians and 540,000 Israeli settlers, following Israel’s occupation of the territory in the 1967 Mideast war. Hebron remains one of the territory’s most volatile areas, standing as the only place where Jewish settlers reside directly within a densely populated Palestinian area under the protection of the Israeli military.
