Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that he had ordered a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and told troops to cordon off the city of Hebron after a shooting attack by two Palestinian men killed two Israeli soldiers.1,3,4
The Israeli military said its forces killed the two gunmen after they opened fire at a junction near Hebron, and it named the dead soldiers as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20. Three other soldiers were lightly wounded, the military said. The attack came days before Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday, a vote in which Netanyahu has made national security a central issue of his campaign for another term.1,3,4
The military said the two suspects, both Palestinians from Hebron, were armed with an M16 rifle and a handgun, and that the attack took place at the Yehuda Junction outside the city. It said the men arrived at an Israeli military position in the morning, triggering an exchange of fire lasting about 20 minutes, after which Israeli troops killed them, and that its forces prevented the men from advancing further, where the attack could have resulted in civilian casualties. Magen David Adom, Israel's primary emergency service, said it received a report of multiple casualties at about 7:15 a.m. local time and treated at least five people, including two in critical condition. The identities of the two men were not immediately clear as of late Friday morning.1,3,4
Netanyahu's office said it had instructed the Israel Defense Forces to "impose a closure" on Hebron and to prepare for a "full lockdown" across the entire West Bank starting Friday, and it gave no further details on the planned closure of the territory. Netanyahu said a cordon would be imposed around Hebron, a city with more than 200,000 inhabitants, and the city of Halhul. He said Israel would consider "extending this model to other cities as well."1,3,4
Netanyahu said he had ordered the evacuation of residents from the neighborhood where the gunmen lived, ahead of a house-to-house sweep for weapons. "Our first step will be to demolish this site and completely transform it," he said. Speaking at the scene, he added: "We will evacuate the residents, we will go house by house, we will also remove the weapons there, and all the terror infrastructure will be dealt with and destroyed."1,4
The military said a large amount of weapons and ammunition was found in the attackers' vehicle, alleging that the two men had been planning a major attack on civilians. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army's chief of staff, said a "large quantity of ammunition was found" in a vehicle used by the gunmen. "This ammunition was intended to be used in a larger-scale attack," he added. Netanyahu cited "large quantities of weapons and ammunition discovered" but did not provide further details.1,3,4
Netanyahu called the gunmen "Hamas terrorists," and after an emergency meeting with his security cabinet and top military and security officials, he blamed Hamas for the shooting, saying the group was "planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians." Hamas called the attack heroic and a legitimate response to "ongoing crimes and brutal attacks against our people, land, and holy sites," but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Hamas, which Israel and the United States have long designated a terrorist group, called on Palestinians in the West Bank with guns to use them against Israeli soldiers and civilians living in the territory.1,3
Netanyahu said the shooting was an attempt to influence the election. He said he had "warned several weeks ago about our enemies' attempts to harm us, our civilians and our soldiers ahead of the elections. That is what they tried to here." Netanyahu's Likud party said he had convened his top security chiefs and was canceling all campaign events for the rest of the day. "Our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination," Netanyahu said, adding, "I commend them for their actions and wish our wounded a speedy recovery."1,3,4
Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called Friday for the Palestinian Authority, the governing body that has long overseen parts of the West Bank, to be dismantled. "There cannot be a situation where, within Judea and Samaria, we have a state of terror," he said in a post on X. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on social media: "There is no alternative to a comprehensive military campaign in Judea and Samaria to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, collect the weapons, and eliminate the terrorists, exactly as we did in Gaza and Lebanon." There was no evidence Friday to suggest the Palestinian Authority had any ties to the gunmen.3,4
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz suggested a sweeping offensive in Hebron, comparing it to Israel's operations in Gaza and Lebanon. "Every clan neighborhood in Hebron from which the terrorists emerged today will be evacuated of its residents, and the terror infrastructure in the neighborhood will be addressed and dismantled," he said. "This is the only language that jihadist terrorism understands. Just like in Gaza, just like in Lebanon."3
Following the shooting, the army said soldiers and Israeli security and intelligence agencies conducted dozens of operations in the West Bank and apprehended dozens of people, including people affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It also said it had located weapons, including M16 rifles and submachine guns. Separately, the military said it had arrested around 70 wanted Palestinians during operations in the West Bank over the past week. In Hebron, it said it had launched "offensive counterterrorism operations," and that soldiers were operating inside the residences of the shooters and other suspects.1,4
The shooting comes amid a surge in Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians that began with the start of the olive harvest, in which Palestinians, activists and American journalists have been attacked and detained. Brad Lander, a New York Democratic candidate for Congress, was briefly detained by Israeli forces this week while helping Palestinian farmers during the harvest. Netanyahu had previously blamed "a handful of young juvenile delinquents" for instances of settler violence, but on Friday he praised the settlers as "heroic," saying they were "an example to the people of Israel and to the State of Israel." This was the fourth time in the past month that Israel had imposed restrictions across the territory, shutting gates and checkpoints connecting Palestinian villages to major roads, while roads remain open to Israeli drivers, including settlers.1,3,4
The identities of the two men alleged to have carried out the attack were not immediately clear as of late Friday morning, and it was not stated whether the injured included soldiers or civilians. Netanyahu said a broader operation would follow. "The IDF will enter the neighborhoods from which the terrorists emerged, evacuate the residents, go house-to-house, and dismantle the terror infrastructure. We are prepared for an extensive operation in Judea and Samaria," he said.1,3
