Israel orders West Bank-wide lockdown after two soldiers killed near Hebron

Two Israeli soldiers died and three were wounded on Friday after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint on the northern outskirts of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

According to the Israeli military, soldiers shot and killed both attackers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attackers had planned a larger assault on civilians and that substantial weapons and ammunition were found at the scene. Netanyahu attributed responsibility to Hamas. Hamas praised the attack in a written statement but did not claim direct responsibility.

Netanyahu ordered Hebron sealed and directed the army to prepare a full lockdown of the West Bank. He also ordered troops into the neighbourhoods where the attackers lived to enter homes and seize weapons, and announced a large-scale military operation in the West Bank.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the scene and called for the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority, asserting without providing evidence that it bore responsibility for the attack. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich separately announced the demolition of a building near the attack site.

Ben-Gvir said the lives of Israeli settlers, soldiers and police were more important than freedom of movement for Palestinians.