Hebron Municipality put daily economic losses above 12 million shekels as residents returned to neighborhoods Monday after Israeli forces withdrew, with safety warnings underscoring damage left by the operation.
Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the municipality said 15 homes and facilities were completely demolished and 327 shops were forced to close. It estimated infrastructure damage at more than 6 million shekels (about $1.9 million) and health and environmental losses at about 500,000 shekels (about $160,000), alongside direct daily losses above 12 million shekels (about $3.8 million).
Residents began returning Nov. 2 to Al-Jalda, Ein Deir Bahha and other parts of Hebron, WAFA said. Palestinian Civil Defense cautioned them against handling suspicious objects and urged them to wait for inspections before entering damaged buildings.
WAFA reported that more than 3,300 people were displaced or otherwise affected, but did not break down how many had left their homes or returned. An Oct. 29 report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cited a municipal estimate of about 3,000 Palestinians displaced from an area of roughly 350 dunums and said the count was still under verification.
EconoTimes previously reported on displacement in Hebron.
OCHA linked the operation to an Oct. 23 checkpoint shooting that killed two Israeli soldiers and injured four; it said the two Palestinian attackers were also killed in an exchange of fire. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its searches aimed to find weapons and infrastructure and included questioning suspects.
