Hundreds of Palestinian families have been forced from their homes in the Ein Deir Baha district of Hebron after Israeli forces leveled entire blocks of a neighborhood. Local officials estimate that roughly thirty five hectares of land have been destroyed or earmarked for demolition, leaving approximately fifteen hundred people homeless. The operation has effectively sealed off the city of two hundred fifty thousand residents, with military checkpoints established at every major entry point.
Footage emerging from the scene depicts a landscape of total devastation where rows of houses have been flattened. In some instances, soldiers were seen marking buildings with black crosses before bulldozers moved in to tear them down. One particularly striking image shows a large residence belonging to a prominent local family draped in Israeli flags after being seized as a temporary military headquarters. These actions come as a direct retaliation for a gunfight Friday at a nearby checkpoint that left two Israeli soldiers and two gunmen dead.
The scale of the response appears closely tied to Israel’s internal politics, with national elections scheduled in just four days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the site shortly after the attack, promising a ferocious reaction. Smotrich, who campaigned in body armor while filming the destruction of Palestinian structures, explicitly stated he ordered the removal of illegal buildings near the attack site and called for broader military campaigns similar to those seen in Gaza and Lebanon.
For those living through the crisis, however, the demolitions feel less like security measures and more like collective punishment. Civil rights activist Issa Amro noted that many displaced families had no connection to the attackers but are now paying the price for political optics ahead of the vote. While some evictees have found shelter with relatives or in municipal community halls, reports suggest thousands more could face displacement as the military continues its operations across the region.