Two soldiers killed, 70 arrested as Hebron sealed

Two Israeli soldiers died in a shooting near Hebron on Friday, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order a military cordon of the city.

The attack occurred at a junction where two Palestinian gunmen opened fire. Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem were killed at the scene. Three other soldiers sustained light wounds. The army reported that the gunmen used an M16 rifle and a handgun. Their vehicle contained a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, suggesting a plan to target civilians.

Netanyahu stated that he has evacuated residents from the neighborhood where the attackers lived. He ordered the demolition of the specific site and the complete transformation of the area. Hebron is home to more than 200,000 people. The prime minister described a wider campaign that would see troops enter the neighborhoods of the attackers, evacuate residents, and dismantle the terror infrastructure house by house. He confirmed that Israel is prepared for an extensive operation in Judea and Samaria.

Hamas labeled the gunmen as heroic and called the attack a legitimate response to ongoing crimes against its people, land, and holy sites. The group did not claim responsibility but urged armed Palestinians in the West Bank to strike Israeli soldiers and civilians. Netanyahu described the shooters as Hamas terrorists. The Israeli military began offensive counterterrorism operations in the Hebron area, with soldiers operating inside the homes of the attackers and other suspects.

Over the past week, the army arrested around 70 wanted Palestinians in West Bank operations. The escalation comes days before Israel holds elections on Tuesday. Netanyahu has made national security a central theme of his bid for another term. He characterized the shooting as an attempt to influence the vote, recalling a warning issued weeks earlier that Israel's enemies were preparing attacks to sway the election.

His Likud party announced that Netanyahu convened senior security chiefs on Friday. All campaign events for the remainder of the day were canceled. The attack follows a recent surge in violence in the West Bank. It also came after Brad Lander, a New York Democratic candidate for Congress, was briefly detained by Israeli forces this week while helping Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest.