Israel Launches West Bank Offensive and Lockdown Following Hebron Attack

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military launched a broad offensive and full lockdown across the occupied West Bank, deploying house-to-house raids, home demolitions, and mass arrests.

The military escalation follows a checkpoint attack near Hebron on Friday that resulted in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers and two suspected Palestinian gunmen. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a full lockdown of the territory and stated that forces would go house-to-house in the Hebron neighbourhood of the suspects to “destroy this place, to change it completely.”

The operation coincides with domestic political developments, taking place just days before Israel’s scheduled election on Tuesday. Furthermore, regional tensions have widened as the United States and Israel have drafted plans for a potential campaign of attacks on Iran following US midterm elections on November 3. US President Donald Trump appeared to confirm that the US was weighing a new military campaign, mentioning a potential “little epic fury.”

By Saturday morning, Israeli forces had raided at least 15 towns across the northern West Bank, including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas, and Qalqilya, resulting in the arrests of dozens of Palestinians. According to the Hebron municipality, up to half of the targeted neighbourhood in Hebron has been forcibly displaced, leaving at least 200 families forced outside their homes.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the large-scale offensive in the West Bank to proceed exactly like operations in Gaza.

Human rights organisations and Palestinian officials have condemned the ongoing measures. The Israeli rights group B’Tselem warned that the planned offensive amounts to collective punishment and acts that could constitute war crimes.

Data from the Palestinian Authority indicates that more than 40,000 citizens have been forcibly displaced from their homes since the beginning of 2025 due to armed forces raids and Israeli settler violence in the West Bank. Additionally, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission recorded 409 attacks by Israeli forces or settlers against Palestinian farmers, land, olive trees, and agricultural equipment during October alone.

The targeted campaign by the Israeli military is planned to last several days.