Israeli troops forcibly displaced dozens of families in the occupied West Bank city of Al Khalil, while demolishing buildings, raiding homes and arresting at least 13 people, the Wafa news agency reported on Saturday.
Israel's military said the operation would last for "several days" and that residents would be able to leave through one of three designated exists after "interrogation and inspection". All entrances to the city have been sealed off, Wafa said.
Israel launched its campaign after five people were injured and two Israeli soldiers were later killed in a shooting at a military checkpoint near the city of Al Khalil, also known as Hebron, on Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later ordered the "full closure" of the West Bank.
Israel’s military said it killed two suspects armed with a rifle and a handgun. Two of the injured were reported to be in a critical condition.
Palestinian media reports named the pair as family members Mohammad Jaaba and Firas Jaaba, both 27 and from Al Khalil. The military said the men had planned to carry out a “large-scale” attack on Israelis. There are a number of illegal Israeli settlements in the area.
On Friday, Israeli forces demolished a residential building in Farsh Al Hawa, west of the city, and prevented residents from entering or leaving the area, Wafa reported.
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Palestinian activist Issa Amro, who is based in Al Khalil, on Saturday said he had been unable to leave his home. "At least 250 families have been displaced in Hebron, including my own sister, Hayat, and her seven children," he said in a post on X.
"Homes and shops are being demolished by the Israeli military. Around 250,000 people are trapped in the city, while 1,000 families in H2 remain in their homes. We are being collectively punished for something we neither did nor supported."
The Palestinian Authority, which is supposed to control parts of the occupied West Bank, said Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa spoke with the city's Mayor, Yousef Al Jaabari. They discussed the needs of residents amid "incursions by Israeli occupation forces into several areas and neighbourhoods and forced evacuation operations affecting hundreds of Palestinians, most of them women, children, older persons and patients".
The military campaign was also condemned by Israeli rights organisation B'Tselem, which described it as part of "ethnic cleansing" efforts.
In a statement on Saturday, executive director Yuli Novak said B'Tselem "urgently calls on governments and international institutions to act now, using all means available under international law, to prevent the forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians, collective punishment and extensive unlawful destruction in Hebron".
Israeli leaders "are openly declaring their intentions and actions on the ground have already begun", he added.
Mr Netanyahu had confirmed that Israel would enter neighbourhoods, remove residents and "dismantle terror infrastructure". Shortly after Mr Netanyahu made those comments, Defence Minister Israel Katz elaborated on the operation in a post on X.
“The Jenin refugee camp model arrives in Hebron,” he wrote, referring to the now-destroyed camp in the north of the West Bank.
B'Tselem said at least 33,000 Palestinians had so far been displaced by Israel's actions in the northern West Bank. Israel is set to hold parliamentary elections in three days, in which Mr Netanyahu has based his campaign on national security concerns.