Israeli Forces Begin Demolishing Hebron Buildings After Checkpoint Ambush

Israeli military crews started tearing down buildings in Hebron on Thursday after two soldiers were killed at a checkpoint outside the West Bank city. Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack. Both Palestinian gunmen involved were shot dead at the scene.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking where the shooting occurred, said forces would "demolish this place and completely transform it," referring to the Hebron neighbourhood the attackers are said to have come from. He said Israel was ready for "extensive action" in the occupied West Bank and compared the plans to earlier operations in West Bank refugee camps, where residential buildings were demolished and thousands of people displaced.

Netanyahu also said he had cordoned off Hebron, a city of about 200,000 residents, along with the nearby city of Halhul. He said he had reviewed plans for the largest military operation in the West Bank in decades but did not give a date for when it might happen. The Israeli military said it recovered a large quantity of ammunition from the attackers' vehicle. It believes the gunmen intended a larger assault on the nearby Route 35 but encountered the checkpoint and opened fire there instead.

The shooting has entered Israel's election campaign, with voting set for four days after the attack. Netanyahu's Likud party said it would cancel campaign events planned for Friday morning. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a campaign in the West Bank "exactly like in Gaza or Lebanon," while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir urged Israel to dismantle the Palestinian Authority.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that opposition leaders undermined the government by criticising Netanyahu's warnings of an attack before the vote, adding they would be "responsible" for any future attack on the country. Opposition figures including Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett offered condolences to the families of the dead soldiers.

The attack comes during a period of high tension in the West Bank, where extremist Jewish settlers have targeted Palestinians during the annual olive harvest. The UN said at least 96 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the territory since the start of the year. Over the same period, four Israelis, both members of the security forces and civilians, have been killed there by Palestinians, a figure that excludes those who died in this latest attack.

Netanyahu said he had reviewed plans for a large military operation in the West Bank but did not say when it might take place.