70 Detained as Israel Seals Hebron

Two Israeli soldiers died and approximately 70 Palestinians were detained in the West Bank over the past week, according to the military.

The deaths resulted from a shooting incident at a junction near Hebron on Friday. Two Palestinian men opened fire using an M16 rifle and a handgun. Israeli forces killed the gunmen at the scene and later identified the victims as Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem. Three other soldiers sustained light injuries.

The military stated that a large quantity of weapons and ammunition was recovered from the attackers' vehicle. Officials said the cache indicated plans for a major attack on civilians. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a major military operation in the region. He instructed troops to cordon off Hebron, a city with more than 200,000 inhabitants. Netanyahu directed that residents evacuate the neighborhood where the gunmen lived. He stated that forces would demolish the site and transform the area. A wider campaign will follow, involving house-to-house searches to dismantle what he described as the terror infrastructure.

Hamas, which Israel and the United States designate as a terrorist group, called the attack heroic. The group described the shooting as a legitimate response to ongoing crimes against Palestinian people, land, and holy sites. Hamas did not claim official responsibility but urged armed Palestinians in the West Bank to target Israeli soldiers and civilians. Netanyahu described the gunmen as Hamas terrorists and characterized the incident as an attempt to influence the upcoming election.

The escalation occurs days before Israeli elections scheduled for Tuesday. National security has become a central theme of Netanyahu's campaign for another term. He recalled a warning issued weeks earlier that enemies were preparing attacks to sway the vote. His Likud party reported that Netanyahu convened senior security chiefs on Friday. All campaign events for the remainder of the day were canceled. This surge in violence follows recent events in the West Bank, including the brief detention of Brad Lander, a New York Democratic candidate for Congress, who was helping Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest earlier this week.

The military confirmed that offensive counterterrorism operations began immediately in the Hebron area. Soldiers are currently operating inside the homes of the attackers and other suspects. The detention of the 70 wanted Palestinians took place during operations across the West Bank over the previous seven days. The cordon around Hebron remains in effect as forces continue the house-to-house search.