Movement restrictions in the West Bank city of Hebron are displacing residents and disrupting local commerce, the Associated Press reported, while the World Bank says West Bank activity remains below its pre-October 2023 level.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Oct. 23 shooting killed two Israeli soldiers and lightly wounded three; two Palestinian gunmen were killed. The IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said the operation would target weapons and infrastructure in the area where the attackers operated. The IDF said residents in that area could leave through three designated points after questioning and inspection.
The Associated Press reported that traffic could not pass through city access points, although residents crossed some military gates on foot. Mayor Yousef Zuhair Al-Jabari told the AP the blockade was forcing businesses to close.
The municipality estimated that more than 2,200 people, including nearly 300 children under 18, had been displaced by Sunday, according to the AP. WAFA later reported that 2,500 people had been removed from their homes over three days. A separate preliminary count cited by WAFA listed 338 affected families, or more than 2,000 people; it also included households facing damage or access problems, so the counts do not measure the same thing.
In a May 2026 economic monitor, the World Bank estimated that West Bank gross domestic product grew about 3% in 2025. It said activity remained substantially below its level before October 2023. The figures describe the wider economy and do not measure the effect of the current Hebron restrictions.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in April 2026 that Hebron’s H2 area contained 34 of the West Bank’s 89 checkpoints and 101 of its 925 movement obstacles. Those counts concern H2 alone and do not describe the full area affected by the current operation. OCHA said movement barriers disrupt livelihoods and services across the West Bank.
Under the 1997 Hebron Protocol, Israel handles internal security and public order in H2, while civil powers there were assigned to the Palestinian side, subject to exceptions involving Israelis and their property.
The IDF and Shin Bet said the operation was expected to continue for several days; they set no completion date and announced no schedule for restoring access. International Crisis Group analyst Amjad Iraqi told the AP that a forceful response before the election could project strength and reassure settlers. Israel’s parliamentary election is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27.
