Overview
- An armed assault at a military checkpoint north of Hebron on Friday saw two Palestinian gunmen shot dead after a roughly 20-minute exchange of fire that left five Israelis wounded, two in critical condition, according to Israeli authorities and emergency services.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate lockdown of Hebron, directed the army to prepare a total West Bank closure, and cancelled Likud campaign events as the IDF launched targeted antiterror operations and house-to-house searches.
- Israeli forces carried out demolitions and temporary evacuations in the attackers’ neighborhood and have detained and questioned dozens of suspects during raids, actions that human-rights groups warn could raise international law concerns.
- Senior far-right ministers pressed for sweeping measures including dismantling the Palestinian Authority and a Gaza-style military campaign, and Netanyahu said he and the defense minister were preparing a "very large-scale" operation though its timing remained undecided.
- The incident sharpens election-year security politics and risks wider escalation in a West Bank already marked by sustained violence since October 2023, making immediate developments in IDF operations, civilian displacements, and government decisions the key things to watch.