Palestinians Re-enter Hebron Homes After Israeli Military Operation Ends
Following a ten-day Israeli military raid in Hebron that displaced over 3,000 residents, Palestinians began returning to damaged houses as troops withdrew.
Palestinians started to return to homes damaged during a ten-day Israeli military operation in Hebron, West Bank, on Monday after the army announced it had completed the raid. The operation, ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to the killing of two Israeli soldiers at a Hebron checkpoint on Oct. 23, displaced more than 3,000 people, according to the United Nations.
An unnamed Israeli military official said troops withdrew after conducting searches, detaining suspects and confiscating weapons and equipment. The official added that four weapons, several vests and other military gear were seized.
Local resident Tamara Obeid described the raid on her home, saying Israeli forces blew up the door, entered violently, pointed weapons at her, and handcuffed her husband before taking him outside. She recounted that her children were screaming during the incident.
The Israeli military had previously demolished the homes of the assailants, as well as other houses, shops, roads and factories in the city, though the exact extent of the demolition remains unclear. On Monday, a bulldozer cleared rubble while Palestinian civil-defence workers, security forces and residents gathered in an alleyway where security forces cordoned off a building entrance.
The operation sparked protests in Hebron, a city where a sizable Jewish settler population lives alongside tens of thousands of Palestinians. Violence in the West Bank has risen since Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza, with increased militant settler attacks on Palestinians and broader Israeli raids.