Israeli forces remained in Hebron on Thursday, the operation’s seventh day, with no end date announced by the Israel Defense Forces, as Palestinian officials reported displacement and daily economic losses.
The operation followed an Oct. 23 shooting at Judea Junction that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded several others, according to the IDF. In a statement four days later, the military said its searches focused on the area where the attackers operated. It reported cordons, home searches and the recovery of dozens of weapons, including four explosive devices.
On Oct. 27, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said aid partners were helping local authorities meet the needs of more than 3,000 people evacuated since Oct. 23. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the operation had involved demolitions of homes and commercial property and restrictions on residents’ movement. Türk called for the operation to end and for displaced residents to return, warning that threats to clear entire neighborhoods raised concerns about ethnic cleansing. “Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law,” he said.
Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin said 537 families, or 3,361 people, had been forced from their homes, WAFA reported Thursday. A separate WAFA report, citing the Follow-up and Support Committee and Hebron Municipality, put the number at about 780 families and roughly 5,000 people displaced or under siege. That broader estimate includes people still in their homes as well as those who left. WAFA also reported Dudin’s estimate of daily economic losses at 10 million to 12 million shekels and his statement that the operation had disrupted education for about 262,000 students across 589 schools during the preceding week.
The Associated Press reported on Oct. 25 that a displaced resident said troops had told people the area would be closed for 12 days. The military did not confirm that timeline and declined to specify how long the operation would last.
