Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday (October 23) that Israel would put the Palestinian city Hebron in the occupied West Bank under lock down, go home to home and evacuate the residents.

Netanyahu made the comments after the Israeli military said Palestinians launched an attack that killed two soldiers near the city.

The Israeli military said it had killed two of the attackers.

In a later statement, the military said two of its soldiers had died of their wounds and three soldiers had been lightly wounded in the attack.

A Reuters reporter documented Israeli bulldozers moving into Hebron in the hours after the attack as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had ordered the immediate demolition of Palestinian buildings near the attack site.

Netanyahu also said that he would launch a large scale military operation into the West Bank, where Palestinian cities and towns regularly undergo Israeli military raids.

Israel's far-right National Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and for all Palestinians in the West Bank to be banned from traveling by road.

Netanyahu and Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz both compared the Hebron operation to mass demolitions Israel carried out in Palestinian refugee camps in 2025, expelling tens of thousands of people.

Human Rights Watch later issued a report saying the mass expulsions amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel said that it needed to demolish civilian infrastructure so that it could not be exploited by militants.

It did not say when residents could return.

The Hebron attack comes in an atmosphere of increasing tension in the West Bank after Israeli settler violence surged in recent weeks.

In his speech following the attack, Netanyahu praised Israeli settlers in the West Bank calling them "heroice" and saying the were "standing in the breach".

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

Netanyahu vows closure in Hebron after shooting attack, pledges more settlements

VIDEO SHOWS: ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, AT SCENE OF SHOOTING ATTACK / BULLDOZERS / ISRAELI MILITARY AT SCENE

SHOWS: NEAR HEBRON, WEST BANK (OCTOBER 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. STARTIONARY CARS AT SCENE OF ATTACK, ISRAELI MILITARY VEHICLES BEHIND

2. ISRAELI SOLDIERS AND VEHICLE AT SCENE

3. CONVOY CARRYING ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ARRIVING AT SCENE

4. ISRAELI SOLDIERS AT SCENE

5. VEHICLES FROM THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE AT SCENE

NEAR HEBRON, WEST BANK (OCTOBER 23, 2026) (GPO - Access all)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING:

“We warned a few weeks ago about attempts by our enemies to harm us, our citizens and our soldiers ahead of the elections. That is what they tried to do here. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers blocked this with their bodies and were also wounded. The soldiers not only stopped the terrorists, but also charged heroically and eliminated them.”

7. WHITE FLASH

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING:

“First of all, we will act to destroy this place, to change it completely. But to do something that has not been done until now, we are going to implement the successful and aggressive model we used in the refugee camps, which are essentially terrorist strongholds. That is exactly what we will do here, inside a neighbourhood in Hebron from which the terrorists emerged. We will evacuate the residents, we will go house to house, we will also confiscate the weapons there, and all terrorist infrastructure will be dealt with and destroyed. At the same time, we are cordoning off the cities of Hebron and Halhul. We will consider expanding this model to other cities as well. We will clear out illegal houses along the routes at an accelerated pace. This threatens our forces.”

9. WHITE FLASH

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING:

“In addition, I want to say a word about our heroic settlers. You are standing in the breach. You are role models for the people of Israel, you are role models for the State of Israel. We are going to destroy the terrorist infrastructure, and we are going to build the settlement infrastructure. Over a hundred new communities that we are building and legalising right here, and not just here. Of course, over 100 farms. We will destroy the terrorist infrastructure and establish more and more communities.”

NEAR HEBRON, WEST BANK (OCTOBER 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

11. VARIOUS OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS AT SCENE OF SHOOTING ATTACK

12. HEAVY MACHINERY AND TRUCK ARRIVING

13. HEAVY MACHINERY AND ISRAELI MILITARY PERSONNEL AT SCENE

14. ISRAELI SOLDIERS AT SCENE

15. EXCAVATOR AT SCENE