Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers near Hebron in the southern West Bank on Friday, officials said. The gunmen were then shot dead by troops. The attack prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to threaten a major offensive in the occupied territory, just days before an Israeli election.
The Israeli military said three other soldiers were wounded in the attack. The incident took place amid a sharp rise in attacks by Israeli settlers and a wider increase in violence across the territory since the Hamas-led attacks of 2023, which plunged the region into war.
Netanyahu pledges evacuations and house-to-house searches in Hebron
Netanyahu visited the site of the attack and said the military would force Palestinians out of a Hebron neighbourhood that he said the attackers had come from. His right-wing coalition could lose its majority in Tuesday’s election, according to the reports.
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He compared the plan to Israel’s military assaults on two Palestinian refugee camps in 2025, operations that displaced tens of thousands of people. Human Rights Watch has said those expulsions amounted to war crimes.
“That is exactly what we will do here,” Netanyahu said. He added that residents would be evacuated, troops would search house by house, weapons would be seized, and what he called terrorist infrastructure would be destroyed.
Bulldozers demolish homes as residents deny links to attackers
After Netanyahu’s remarks, a reporter saw Israeli bulldozers start demolishing homes in Hebron near the shooting site. Local residents said the homes facing demolition had no connection to the attackers. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The violence comes ahead of the October 27 election. Opinion polls show Netanyahu and his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, both falling short of a majority in parliament.
Settler attacks and settlement growth add to tensions
Militant settlers have stepped up attacks on Palestinians in recent weeks during the territory’s annual olive harvest. At least three Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded, including journalists, European diplomats and a French mayor.
Palestinian gunmen have also attacked Israeli soldiers and civilians in recent months. In September, a gunman shot dead an Israeli man at a spring near a West Bank settlement, and the suspected gunman was later arrested. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s government has overseen a rapid expansion of settlements, which UN bodies and most countries consider illegal. Israel disputes this view.
