Israeli military forces are maintaining a strict lockdown on the occupied West Bank city of Hebron for the tenth consecutive day, accompanied by threats of a wider offensive that has heightened fears of further displacement among local residents.
The sweeping military closure was implemented following an October 23 attack near Hebron that resulted in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers. Since the lockdown began, municipal officials report that more than 3,300 Palestinians have been displaced or directly affected, with multiple residential homes demolished and commercial enterprises shuttered.
Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari stated that daily economic losses resulting from the siege exceed 12 million shekels, equivalent to approximately $3.8 million. Infrastructure damage has surpassed $1.9 million, while losses across the health and environmental sectors are estimated at roughly $160,000. According to al-Jabari, Israeli forces have demolished 15 homes and various other structures, forced the closure of 327 businesses, and left approximately 80,000 students unable to attend school throughout the ten-day period.
Characterizing the measures as collective punishment, the mayor noted that Hebron accounts for approximately 40 percent of the Palestinian economy. Families within and surrounding the city remain on alert as military operations continue.
Concurrently, military raids and arrests persisted across the occupied West Bank. In Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, Israeli forces detained 10 Palestinian teachers and confiscated their vehicle. Additional footage verified by independent monitors showed Israeli troops raiding a United Nations-administered school within the Shufat refugee camp located in occupied East Jerusalem.
Wider regional violence has also surged. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that Israeli settlers launched 397 attacks against Palestinians throughout the occupied West Bank during October, marking the highest monthly total recorded since systematic monitoring began in 2006. Between October 20 and 26 alone, settler assaults affected 49 Palestinian communities, predominantly targeting individuals engaged in the olive harvest on their lands.
Casualty figures compiled for the period show that 57 Palestinians, including nine children, were injured by either Israeli forces or settlers. Of those injured, 34 sustained wounds from military gunfire or physical assaults, while 23 were hurt during settler attacks.
Meanwhile, official data from the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission indicates that Israeli authorities have issued 9,518 demolition or stop-work notices against Palestinian properties across the occupied West Bank since the beginning of 2015. The government commission noted that 344 of those notices were delivered during the first nine months of the current year.
