Israel prepares large-scale West Bank operation following deadly Hebron attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced plans for a major military operation in the occupied West Bank after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers near Hebron on Friday, days before Israel's general election, a Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the attackers opened fire on soldiers stationed at Judea Junction north of Hebron, killing Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20. Three other soldiers sustained minor injuries. Both gunmen were killed by Israeli forces, who subsequently discovered a large quantity of weapons and ammunition in their vehicle. The military said the findings suggested the attackers had been preparing a larger assault targeting civilians.
Following the shooting, Netanyahu ordered Israeli forces to cordon off Hebron and prepare for a possible closure of the entire West Bank. Speaking during a visit to the area alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, he announced plans for an extensive military campaign, describing its potential scale as unprecedented since the Six-Day War of 1967.
"The IDF is ready to carry it out, and we will determine the timing, but it is coming," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister also outlined plans to evacuate Palestinian residents from the Hebron neighborhood where he said the attackers had lived, conduct house-to-house searches and demolish buildings suspected of supporting militant activity. He compared the proposed measures to Israeli military operations in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps in 2025, which displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. Israeli bulldozers began demolishing buildings near the shooting site on Friday, although residents disputed claims that the properties were connected to the attackers.
Netanyahu identified the gunmen as Hamas militants, although their organizational affiliation has not been independently established. Hamas praised the attack, describing it as a legitimate response to Israeli military operations and settlement activity in Palestinian territories, but did not formally claim responsibility. The group also called for continued armed resistance against Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a broader military campaign targeting armed Palestinian groups and the Palestinian Authority, advocating measures similar to those employed in Gaza and Lebanon. His remarks came amid increasing tensions in the West Bank, where Israeli settlement expansion and attacks by settlers against Palestinians have intensified in recent months. During his visit, Netanyahu praised Israeli settlers and highlighted the establishment and legalization of more than 100 settlements, alongside the development of additional agricultural outposts. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are widely considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
The developments come four days before Israel's October 27 general election, the first since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Netanyahu faces a challenge from former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, whose Yashar party has led the ruling Likud party in several recent opinion polls. However, the final surveys published ahead of the election indicate that neither Netanyahu's political bloc nor the main opposition parties have secured a projected majority of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
National security and the future of Israel's military operations in Gaza and the West Bank have featured prominently in the election campaign. On October 15, Eisenkot pledged that, if elected, he would remove Hamas from power in Gaza within 18 months, either through the U.S.-backed peace and reconstruction process or through renewed military action. The latest violence in Hebron has brought the West Bank security situation into sharper focus as Israelis prepare to vote.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the sidelines of the Seventh CICA Summit in Baku, where they discussed the situation in the Middle East and the importance of diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions.