Two Soldiers Killed in Hebron

Two Israeli soldiers were killed on Friday when two Palestinian men opened fire at a junction near Hebron. The gunmen, who used an M16 rifle and a handgun, were shot dead by forces at the scene. Three other soldiers sustained light injuries in the exchange.

The Israeli military stated that the attackers' vehicle contained a large quantity of weapons and ammunition. Army officials said the cache indicated the shooters had planned a major attack on civilians. Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem were later identified as the two dead soldiers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a cordon of Hebron, a city with more than 200,000 residents. He instructed troops to evacuate the neighborhood where the gunmen lived to conduct a house-to-house search for weapons. "Our first step will be to demolish this site and completely transform it," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister declared that a wider military campaign would follow the initial sweep. "The IDF will enter the neighborhoods from which the terrorists emerged, evacuate the residents, go house-to-house, and dismantle the terror infrastructure," he said. He described the coming operation in Judea and Samaria as extensive.

Netanyahu labeled the shooters as Hamas terrorists. The group called the attack heroic and a legitimate response to ongoing crimes against its people and holy sites, though it did not formally claim responsibility. Hamas also urged armed Palestinians in the West Bank to target Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The Israeli military began offensive counterterrorism operations in the Hebron area, with soldiers entering the homes of the attackers and other suspects. The army reported arresting around 70 wanted Palestinians in West Bank operations over the past week.

The escalation occurred days before Israel held elections on Tuesday. Netanyahu, who made national security a central theme of his campaign, said the shooting was an attempt to influence the vote. His Likud party canceled all campaign events for the rest of the day after he convened senior security chiefs.

The attack followed 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 while helping Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest.