Hebron Operation: IDF, Shin Bet Move on Terrorists' Neighborhood

The IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have opened a counterterrorism operation in the Hebron neighborhood that the two terrorists behind Friday's deadly Yehuda Junction attack came from. The operation is expected to last several days. In a joint statement on Friday night, the IDF and the Shin Bet said residents may leave the operational zone only through three designated exit points, after questioning and security checks. Anyone who arouses suspicion at screening is taken for further interrogation.

Troops sealed off the Ein Deir Baha area in northwest Hebron and ordered every resident out of their homes. Forces seized buildings in the neighborhood, where the attackers' homes are located.

Border Police officers and the Judea Regional Brigade are operating alongside the army and the Shin Bet. The joint statement said forces are carrying out systematic searches for weapons and terror infrastructure and questioning dozens of suspects. Security forces are also active at dozens of locations across Judea and Samaria.

Hebron is not the only target. The Israeli outlet Walla reported on Saturday morning that parallel operations to seize weapons and make arrests were underway in the Jenin and Nablus areas. Forces were also operating in Kafr Aqab in east Yerushalayim and in the town of Tamun.

As JFeed reported on Friday, soldiers and Border Police officers had already begun searching Hebron homes tied to the attackers under the cordon around the city.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out the approach on Friday while visiting the scene of the attack. He said Israel would apply the model it used in the refugee camps of Judea and Samaria.

"We will evacuate the residents, go from house to house, remove the weapons there, and address and demolish all terrorist infrastructure," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu added that Israel would consider extending the model to other cities. He also said that he and Defense Minister Israel Katz had seen plans for an IDF operation in Judea and Samaria on a scale unmatched since the Six-Day War. "The IDF is ready to carry it out, and we will determine the timing, but it is coming," he said.

Katz confirmed that the neighborhood would be emptied and its terror infrastructure destroyed under the model used in the Jenin refugee camp. He warned that "the terrorists, their handlers, and those who provide them with protection and assistance will pay a very heavy price." On Friday, JFeed reported that Katz described the plan as a powerful, unprecedented operation in a Hebron neighborhood.

Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, head of IDF Central Command, the military's regional headquarters for the West Bank, announced a significant counterterrorism operation running in parallel with the closures imposed on Hebron and Halhul.

Terror attack near Hebron, )ctober 23, 2026 (Photo: Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90))

Friday's attack killed Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, of Ashkelon, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, of Hod Hasharon. Both belonged to the Ari Battalion, part of the Home Front Command's Search and Rescue Brigade. Three other soldiers were lightly wounded. The two terrorists, both from Hebron, opened fire on troops at a checkpoint and were killed in the ensuing exchange of fire. The IDF said no other terrorists were involved.

The military assessed that the attackers had intended to continue onto Route 35 and carry out a larger attack on civilians, and opened fire once they realized they could not get past the checkpoint. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the large quantity of ammunition found in their vehicle pointed to that intent.

The attackers were named as Firas and Hamouda Al-Ja'abah, both 27 and members of the same family. One of them was affiliated with Hamas.

The attack came days before Israel's general election on Tuesday, with the IDF already on high alert. Netanyahu has ordered security forces to prepare a full lockdown of Judea and Samaria.