Israel prepares full West Bank lockdown after Hebron shooting kills two soldiers
Summary
On Friday 23 October 2026, two Palestinians opened fire on Israeli troops at a checkpoint in northern Hebron in the occupied West Bank, and two soldiers were killed. Middle East Eye reported that the Israeli army said three other soldiers were wounded, while a later report from the same outlet put the number of wounded at six. The two Palestinians were shot dead after a 20-minute exchange of fire, and Israeli media said they belonged to the same family. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Hebron closed and preparations for a full lockdown across the West Bank. In a video filmed in Hebron, he threatened to destroy the neighbourhood the two men came from and evacuate its residents, and said the operation would mirror Israeli military assaults on refugee camps in northern West Bank in January 2025, which have displaced at least 40,000 Palestinians. The Israeli army said it had placed Hebron under a cordon and launched offensive counterterrorism operations. Israeli forces shut the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. Palestinian media reported Israeli raids in Dura, south of Hebron, where forces shot and wounded at least one Palestinian man and made arrests. Citing Israel's Channel 12, Middle East Eye also reported that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the demolition of numerous Palestinian buildings around Hebron's northern entrance.
Timeline
Middle East Eye
Source ↗Middle East Eye reports that Netanyahu ordered preparations for a full West Bank lockdown after a Hebron checkpoint shooting killed two Israeli soldiers, and that Israeli forces shut the Ibrahimi Mosque and carried out raids in Dura.
Middle East Eye
Source ↗Middle East Eye, citing Israel's Channel 12, reports that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the demolition of numerous Palestinian buildings around Hebron's northern entrance after the shooting, which wounded six Israeli soldiers.
Al Jazeera
Source ↗Al Jazeera reports that Israel imposed a lockdown across the occupied West Bank after a shooting near Hebron killed two Israeli soldiers.
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