Israeli forces have maintained a tight closure on Hebron in the occupied West Bank for a second day, with Palestinian media reporting home raids, mass detentions and dozens of residents forced outside following a shooting incident the day before.
Israeli forces entered the al-Jilda and Deir Bahha neighbourhoods in central Hebron on Saturday, as military operations continued across the occupied West Bank, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Wafa said additional military vehicles and bulldozers were deployed in the city, while main entrances and roads were blocked, cutting Hebron off from surrounding areas.
Dozens of residents were ordered out of their homes during the early morning hours and made to remain outside, the agency reported.
Israeli forces also searched homes and detained dozens of people for field questioning before releasing them later on Saturday morning.
Hebron Mayor Yousef Al-Jabari said large-scale demolitions of homes, shops, factories and roads had taken place in the Palestinian city, accusing Israel of a disproportionate response.
Al-Jabari said infrastructure, including main roads and side streets, had also been targeted.
“For the first time in Hebron, we have seen elderly people, women, men and children forced out onto the streets,” he said.
“The Israeli response is disproportionate, and there is no justification for these actions,” Al-Jabari added.
In separate operations elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces detained 19 Palestinians.
The detainees included two people from the Hindaza area and al-Azza refugee camp in Bethlehem governorate, 16 from Nablus governorate and one person from Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho.
The latest operations followed a shooting in Hebron on Friday. The Israeli army said two Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire with its forces after allegedly opening fire on Israeli settlers and wounding five people.
Following the incident, the Israeli military announced the closure of Hebron and several surrounding towns.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has seen increased Israeli military operations and settler violence since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The violence has included killings and arrests, demolitions of homes and other structures, attacks on mosques and vehicles, damage to agricultural land, restrictions on farmers’ access to their fields, displacement of Palestinian communities and settlement expansion.
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