The Israeli army closed off access to Hebron following the terrorist attack that left two soldiers dead

Israeli forces closed all entrances to Hebron on Saturday following the terrorist attack in which two Palestinians shot and killed two Israeli soldiers near the southern West Bank city. The measure is part of a military operation launched Friday night. A spokesman for the Hebron Municipality told EFE on Saturday that the closure affects the commercial capital of the southern West Bank, which usually receives thousands of people who come to shop on weekends. The measure comes three days before Israel's general elections. Israeli troops entered various sectors of the city Friday night. According to the Palestinian municipality's initial count, the offensive forced 492 families to leave their homes. The Israeli army announced the start of the operation in a statement released Friday. "Forces have begun conducting precise, targeted searches throughout the area in order to locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure and weaponry, while interrogating suspects," the institution stated. Israeli military authorities indicated that the operation could extend over several days. They also established three exit points from the city, where people leaving Hebron are subjected to interrogations and may be detained if forces consider them suspicious. The Israeli army did not provide EFE with figures on arrests or on the number of residents who left their homes because of the operation. The Palestinian municipality, for its part, held a meeting Saturday night to define an emergency plan in response to the raids and restrictions imposed on the city. The Palestinian agency Wafa located the displaced families in the areas of Al Yalda and Deir Baha. The outlet also reported demolitions of buildings and businesses in Farsh Al Hawa, an area near the site of the attack against the Israeli soldiers. It also reported the arrest of at least 13 people in the framework of the Israeli incursions. Israeli authorities did not confirm those figures either. In addition to the checkpoints and home searches, Israel began demolishing structures it deems "illegal" in Hebron and in areas near the scene of the attack. The two Palestinians who shot at the soldiers died during the incident, according to the information provided. The operation is part of the response announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attack. The head of government advanced a large-scale offensive in the West Bank, with evacuations of residents of Palestinian neighborhoods, house-to-house inspections, and destruction of facilities that Israel links to terrorist activities. In a video message, Netanyahu stated that the army is preparing an operation "on a scale not seen since the Six-Day War," referring to the 1967 conflict. The Six-Day War ended with the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories that Jordan had controlled since 1948. The prime minister's reference places the announced operation among the largest Israeli military interventions in that territory in decades. (With information from EFE)