Israeli forces demolish Hebron homes, Netanyahu threatens largest West Bank operation since 1967

Israeli forces have demolished homes and businesses across two Hebron neighbourhoods, displacing at least 200 families, Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari said Saturday.

The operation centres on the Ein Deir Baha and Farsh al-Hawa areas and targets homes, businesses, industrial sites and infrastructure. Al-Jaabari said dozens of families were ordered to leave without their vehicles and that homes have been marked for demolition with spray paint. He assessed that approximately 2,500 people would ultimately be displaced from roughly 0.35 square kilometres of urban land.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the operation Friday in response to the killing of two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint by two Palestinian gunmen; three other soldiers were injured and the gunmen were also killed. Netanyahu said buildings near the attack site and the gunmen's home neighbourhoods would be 'destroyed'.

In a statement on social media, the Israel Defense Forces said it held dozens of targets across the West Bank and that operations would last several days. The IDF did not respond to a request for comment on the Hebron specifics.

Netanyahu also said he had reviewed plans for what he described as the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967, without specifying a timeline. It is not clear whether the current Hebron operation forms part of that wider plan.

In an interview with Israel's i24 television channel released Saturday, Netanyahu threatened 'a very big surprise' for the Palestinian Authority. He visited Hebron on Friday wearing protective armour, cancelling his party's morning campaign events four days before Israel's general election.