Hebron residents given an hour to flee homes after soldiers killed in shooting

Hebron has been a West Bank city under frequent military pressure, but the scale of displacement changed quickly on Saturday morning. Following a deadly shooting on Friday near the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint, Israeli forces forcibly evicted approximately 250 Palestinian families from their homes across four neighborhoods.

The operation began around midnight. Khaled al-Qawasmi, the deputy mayor of Hebron, told Middle East Eye that military personnel gave residents roughly one hour to vacate their properties. The evacuation included adults and children, and officials stated that no residents were permitted to remain in the designated zones. The military described the action as an operation to thwart terrorism, launched in coordination with the Shin Bet and the Border Police.

The trigger for the sweep was a shooting that left two soldiers dead and three others wounded. Israeli forces killed the two suspected attackers, Ahmad and Hamouda al-Joba, in the process. The army said it was searching for weapons and dismantling what it called terrorist infrastructure in the area where the men operated. Residents in the affected zones, including al-Jalada, Ein Deir Bahha, Wadi al-Maghariba, and Shi'b al-Milh, reported being ordered out at gunpoint with little time to pack.

Abdul Hamid Shahada, a resident of al-Jalada, described the scene from his window. He said he watched soldiers beat a man while forcing families to leave. Shahada and his family packed small bags with medicines, phone chargers, and documents, then stayed in their building all night without sleeping. The soldiers directed the displaced families along a specific route toward Al-Salam Street. Some went to relatives, while others headed to shelters.

The military told some families they would be kept out for six months to a year, while others were simply told to return "until further notice." Shahada noted that many homes left behind were ransacked, with doors and windows left wide open. Simultaneously, Israeli forces demolished residential buildings and commercial facilities in Farsh al-Hawa, leveling around seven dunums of land. The city faced a broad closure, with main roads blocked and at least 13 Palestinians arrested.

In response, the Hebron Municipality activated an emergency plan. Officials opened the Child Happiness Centre, the Korean Centre, and various family guesthouses to accommodate the displaced. Qawasmi warned that the 250-figure is not final because the military siege is ongoing. He said the closure extends to all entrances of Hebron, not just the targeted neighborhoods.

The municipality established an operations centre to monitor the needs of residents. Qawasmi stated that if the operation expands, the city faces a crisis in finding shelter due to limited capacity in the already opened facilities. The military has not announced a timeline for ending the operation or lifting the closure on the city's gateways.

The situation remains fluid as troops continue to deploy across different parts of the city. Families who left in the first wave are currently staying in temporary arrangements. The deputy mayor confirmed that the evacuation process is still active, and the number of displaced people could rise as the military continues its search and arrest operations in the West Bank city.