Palestinian families displaced as Israeli forces demolish Hebron homes, local officials say

The Israeli military has launched a sweeping crackdown in the occupied West Bank, demolishing homes and businesses in the city of Hebron and displacing hundreds of families, according to local officials.

Footage shared online showed destruction caused by Israeli bulldozers, with at least one whole street appearing to have been flattened. The military has also cordoned off the city, heavily restricting the movement of its 200,000 residents.

The operation was announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, in response to the killing of two Israeli soldiers by two Palestinian gunmen in an attack on a checkpoint. Three other Israeli soldiers were injured, and the gunmen were also killed.

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

Netanyahu said on Friday that buildings around the site of the attack and the neighbourhoods that the two gunmen were from would be "destroyed".

It is common practice for Israeli forces to demolish the homes of Palestinians who are suspected of carrying out attacks on Israelis in the West Bank - a practice Israeli rights groups have criticised as collective punishment.

Netanyahu likened the operation to previous operations in Palestinian refugee camps in the north of the territory, when the Israeli military demolished hundreds of homes and displaced tens of thousands in 2025.

Hebron's Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari said the operation had been centred on the Ein Deir Baha and Farsh al-Hawa neighbourhoods, and targeted homes, businesses, industrial sites and infrastructure.

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