20 Minutes of Fire: Hebron Ambush Kills Two Soldiers
Israel ordered a full closure of the West Bank after gunmen killed two troops and wounded three others near the Yehuda Junction.
By Tyler Khalil ·
The occupied West Bank has seen four full closures in the past month. On Friday, a new shutdown began after a 20 minute firefight near the Yehuda Junction outside Hebron left two Israeli soldiers dead.
The Israeli army stated that two Palestinian gunmen reached a military position in the morning. The attackers carried an M16 assault rifle and a handgun. They died in the exchange of fire. Three other soldiers sustained light wounds.
Emergency responders treated five people, some critically, and transported them to hospitals in Israel. Two men in their 20s had gunshot wounds to their lower limbs. One person was unconscious and seriously injured. Tzuriel Edri of the response team described arriving at a difficult scene while shooting was still active in the area.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency security cabinet meeting. His office ordered forces to cordon off Hebron immediately. The closure of the entire West Bank started on Friday. Netanyahu attributed the incident to Hamas, stating the group was planning a major attack to murder civilians. He claimed his soldiers thwarted the plan with courage.
Military forces began precise searches in the section of Hebron where the gunmen operated. Residents can leave the area only through three designated exit points after security screening. The operation is expected to last several days. The army also began demolishing infrastructure it identified as a threat.
Army chief of staff Eyal Zamir announced that a large quantity of ammunition was found in a vehicle used by the attackers. He said the weapons were intended for a larger scale attack. Israeli forces and security agencies conducted dozens of operations across the West Bank on Friday. They arrested dozens of people, including members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and seized M16 rifles and submachine guns.
Israeli voters will decide on Tuesday whether to grant Netanyahu another term. He suggested Hamas might strike to influence the election, though he offered no specific evidence. Netanyahu said the military would force Palestinians out of the specific Hebron neighborhood where the attackers originated. He compared this move to Israeli assaults on two refugee camps in 2025.
Human Rights Watch has characterized such expulsions as war crimes, a classification Israel rejects. U.S. congressional candidate Brad Lander was in the West Bank on Friday. He was detained by Israeli forces on Wednesday. Lander described the closure as an effort to take more control and make Palestinian life impossible. Amnesty International has called the current olive harvest season a time of horror for Palestinian families due to a surge in settler violence.
