Israeli Offensive Displaces Thousands of Palestinians in Hebron

(MENAFN) More than 2,200 Palestinians have been driven from their homes, while Israeli forces have demolished five commercial and industrial facilities and a three-story residential building during a major military operation in Hebron, in the southern West Bank, the city’s mayor said.

In an interview, Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari said the forced displacement affected Deir Bahha and parts of Al-Jilda in western Hebron. The area spans approximately 330 dunams (330,000 square meters) and includes more than 495 housing units.

According to al-Jabari, Israeli troops encircled Deir Bahha and Al-Jilda before using loudspeakers to instruct residents to leave their homes.

“Those displaced include children, women, young men and older people,” he said. Some residents initially declined to leave, but troops subsequently entered their homes and forced them out.

The Hebron municipality reported Saturday that approximately 1,500 Palestinians from 250 families had been displaced. The mayor later revised the total upward to more than 2,200 people.

Al-Jabari did not reveal where the displaced residents had relocated. However, witnesses said some families had sought shelter in other towns and villages across the West Bank.

Separately, Riyad Khamis, a media official with a local committee assisting affected families, said more than 380 Palestinian families had been forced to leave their homes across three neighborhoods: Deir Bahha, Al-Jilda and Khirbet al-Maghariba.

The Israeli military began its offensive Friday following a shooting in the Farsh al-Hawa area near Hebron’s northwestern entrance that killed two Israeli soldiers.

Khamis said the affected neighborhoods constitute a connected residential zone within Area A, where the Palestinian Authority is supposed to maintain civil and security control under the Oslo Accords.

The neighborhoods are “located far from settlements, outposts or settler roads,” he said.

MENAFN26102026000045018846ID1111865566