Meanwhile, Israeli forces have forced approximately 1,500 Palestinians from 250 families to leave their homes in Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, since Friday, with another 2,500 people reportedly facing displacement in the coming hours, the municipality said Saturday.
The displaced families lived in the Deir Bahha and al-Jilda neighbourhoods, which together are home to approximately 500 families, according to the municipality.
Israeli forces marked evacuated homes and distributed notices instructing remaining residents to leave without taking their vehicles, the municipality said.
The Israeli army continued its siege of Hebron for a second consecutive day on Saturday, following a military operation launched on Friday. The measures included closing main entrances and roads connecting the city to surrounding areas, deploying military vehicles and bulldozers, and conducting raids and searches of homes.
The closure followed an incident in which two Palestinians opened fire at an Israeli checkpoint. Both attackers and two Israeli soldiers were killed, while three other Israeli soldiers were wounded, according to Israeli figures.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, during an incursion into Hebron, that the army was preparing a large-scale military offensive in the occupied West Bank that would involve displacing Palestinians from neighbourhoods and raiding their homes.
Netanyahu said Israel would apply a military model previously used during operations in refugee camps in the northern West Bank.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the threats, warning that plans to evacuate and demolish neighbourhoods could amount to an attempt to repeat the Nakba and carry out ethnic cleansing. The ministry urged Palestinian diplomatic missions to press governments internationally to take firm action against Israeli measures.
The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has witnessed escalating military operations, settler violence, demolitions and displacement since the war on Gaza began in October 2023. Palestinians warn that these measures could pave the way for the annexation of further territory and undermine prospects for an independent Palestinian state.
