OMM Newsroom
The Israeli army tightened restrictions in residential areas of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, as its military offensive entered its ninth consecutive day, witnesses said, according to Anadolu Agency.
The offensive began on Oct. 23 and has displaced thousands of Palestinians, led to dozens of arrests and resulted in the demolition of homes and other structures.
On Friday evening, Israeli forces imposed a military closure on the Ein Deir Bahha neighborhood, raided homes and detained several young men, witnesses told Anadolu Agency.
Witnesses said Israeli military vehicles entered the neighborhood before soldiers announced over loudspeakers that it had been designated a “closed military zone,” barring residents from staying in or moving through the area.
Footage shared by local media showed Israeli soldiers deployed throughout the neighborhood and warning residents not to remain there.
Other footage circulated by media outlets, including the Quds Network, showed soldiers detaining Palestinians and ordering them to put their hands on their heads before taking them to an undisclosed location.
Homes demolished and olive harvest taken
Israeli forces demolished the homes of Hamouda Wael Mohammed al-Jaaba and Ahmed Bassam Mohammed Ashour al-Jaaba in the Ain Deir Baha area, local sources and witnesses said.
The demolitions followed Israeli accusations that the two men carried out a shooting attack in the Farsh al-Hawa area west of Hebron on Oct. 23.
Separately, five Palestinians were injured on Friday when illegal Israeli occupiers attacked a family harvesting olives in Tel Rumeida, in central Hebron, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said.
The commission said the occupiers beat the Palestinians, used pepper spray and threw stones before taking their olive harvest.
It also reported that occupiers completely burned an agricultural room and equipment in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. Palestinian farmers were prevented from working in the towns of Dura and al-Shuyukh, the commission added.
Since the offensive began, Israeli forces have imposed closures on Hebron and nearby villages. They have also seized homes in the Jilada and Ain Deir Baha neighborhoods and turned them into military barracks.
The offensive has involved forced displacement, the demolition of homes and commercial properties, and damage to infrastructure. Israeli flags were also raised over houses converted into military positions.
Nearly 5,000 Palestinians displaced
The Hebron Municipality said Tuesday that the offensive had displaced 4,969 Palestinians from 780 families.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society said Israeli forces arrested 110 Palestinians across the governorate between Friday and Wednesday. Military closures and the ongoing siege have also disrupted education at 66 schools, affecting 2,872 students.
Of those students, 2,198 remain under direct siege, while another 674 have been forcibly displaced and cannot reach their schools.
Displaced Palestinians have called for an end to the military closures and for the siege on their neighborhoods to be lifted so they can return home and resume daily life.
