Overview
- Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three wounded in a shooting at a Hebron-area checkpoint, after which the alleged Palestinian gunmen were shot dead by security forces.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a full closure of the Palestinian territory and publicly said he and the defense minister are considering a very large-scale military operation in the West Bank.
- Late on Friday the IDF and the internal security service Shin Bet said they had begun a targeted multi-agency 'anti‑terror' operation in the Hebron area that includes house searches, arrests, roadblocks and demolition of structures.
- Hard-right ministers pushed for harsher measures, including dismantling the Palestinian Authority and mass arrests, while the government said the operation aimed to find weapons and dismantle local terror infrastructure.
- Human-rights groups warned the measures could amount to collective punishment and forcible displacement, a concern rooted in recent years of West Bank raids, high Palestinian casualty counts and large 2025 displacements.