Hebron Sealed: 3,171 Evicted As Israel Votes

By Monday, at least 3,171 Palestinians from 488 families had been forced from their homes in the Hebron area. Hebron Municipality data, cited by the Wafa news agency, confirmed the displacement count on the fourth day of a closure that began on Friday.

The siege started after two gunmen opened fire at an army checkpoint at Hebron’s northern entrance. The attack killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three. After the suspects were killed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the isolation of the city. He stated that troops would go house to house in the gunmen’s neighbourhood and declared, “We will act to destroy this place, to change it completely.”

Defence Minister Israel Katz said residents would not return until the army had finished dealing with all Hamas issues in Hebron. Soldiers used loudspeakers to order residents of al-Jalda and Ein Deir Baha neighbourhoods to leave. By Monday, Israeli forces had searched more than 500 homes, arrested more than 70 people, and erected 128 closed gates and 120 checkpoints, according to Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reported that the displaced group includes 127 infants, 81 pregnant women, and 26 people with disabilities. The group also counted at least 47 detentions in Hebron since Friday. Bulldozers demolished a three-apartment building owned by Riyad Amrish, along with a tile factory and an auto-parts shop in Farsh al-Hawa. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered these demolitions, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

Israeli NGO B’Tselem warned that the operation amounts to collective punishment and acts that could constitute war crimes. While Hebron faces the largest closure, sieges are occurring at other scales. In Wadi al-Rakheem, the family of Yusuf Shanaran has been besieged by settlers for three weeks. In Madama, south of Nablus, residents are emerging from a two-week siege of their village entrances.

The olive harvest has faced 482 attacks by Sunday across nine governorates, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission. Settlers stole olives and equipment in at least a dozen villages. Assaults occurred in at least 15 places, including Burin and Ein Arik. Detentions and expulsions took place in at least a dozen locations, and damage to olive trees was recorded in at least 10 spots.

In Burqa, settlers burned a memorial and the home of Jamal Bajes on Tuesday. Bajes, a Palestinian-American, said it was the second arson at his house in recent months. Far-right influencers were brought to film expulsions in Deir Jarir and Turmus Aya for campaign content. United States Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander was among 80 volunteers detained near Nahalin on Wednesday.

In Gaza, at least 37 Palestinians were killed in the last week. The Gaza Ministry of Health recorded 1,559 killed and 5,608 wounded since the October 2025 ceasefire, with a cumulative toll of 74,555. Hunger worsened as crossings remained shut. Flour stocks ran out, leaving only seven of 20 commercial bakeries open. A tray of eggs reached a price of 60 shekels, or $19.50.

Pressure eased on the evening of October 23. Israel told traders that commercial goods would resume, and an Egyptian committee delivered flour, according to Mohammad Abu Warda of the private sector’s emergency committee. The army barred Palestinian workers from settlements on Sunday and Monday and will close all crossings on election day.