Israeli army orders mass evacuations in Hebron after soldiers killed in gun attack

Israeli forces ordered hundreds of Palestinian residents to leave their homes in Hebron on Saturday, launching a multi-day military operation in the occupied West Bank city after a gun attack on Friday killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others.

The two suspected Palestinian attackers were shot dead at the scene.

Witnesses described dozens of military vehicles moving through residential streets. Residents reported receiving orders over loudspeakers to evacuate immediately. All access roads to the affected area were sealed; residents could leave through three designated exits subject to checks and questioning.

"50 soldiers came to our house. They said we must leave," one resident, Hijar Sishawar Tamimi, told ARD. "I had to leave immediately with my children and five other families who now have no shelter."

Another resident, Majdi Nasa, refused to go. "I am not leaving my house. We are asking the United Nations for help," he said. "We have nothing to do with the attack on the checkpoint. There are children here. We are cut off from outside. This is pure arbitrariness."

The army said the operation was focused on the area from which the two suspected attackers came. Palestinian municipal authorities activated an emergency plan, prepared temporary shelters and set up a round-the-clock operations centre. Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin accused the Israeli government of seeking to "erase the Palestinian people" ahead of Israeli elections.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu separately announced what he called "a very big surprise" for the Palestinian Authority, without elaborating.