Netanyahu Orders Hebron Cordon and Demolitions After Troop Killings

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Friday that he had authorized a major military operation in the West Bank.

The order came after two Palestinian men shot and killed two Israeli soldiers at a junction near Hebron.

The army identified the fallen troops as Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem.

Three additional soldiers sustained light injuries in the exchange of fire.

The military stated that the gunmen, who were killed at the scene, used an M16 rifle and a handgun.

Officials reported finding a large quantity of weapons and ammunition in the attackers' vehicle.

The army said the cache indicated the men planned a major attack on civilians.

Netanyahu ordered residents to evacuate the specific Hebron neighborhood where the gunmen lived.

He directed forces to conduct a house-to-house search for weapons in the area.

"Our first step will be to demolish this site and completely transform it," Netanyahu said.

Hebron has a population of more than 200,000 people.

The prime minister said the IDF would enter the neighborhoods from which the attackers emerged to dismantle what he called terror infrastructure. "We are prepared for an extensive operation in Judea and Samaria," he added, using the Israeli name for the West Bank. Hamas called the attack heroic but did not claim responsibility for it. The group urged armed Palestinians in the West Bank to target Israeli soldiers and civilians. Israeli forces began offensive counterterrorism operations in the Hebron area on Friday. Soldiers entered the homes of the attackers and other suspects to search for arms. The military also announced that it had arrested approximately 70 wanted Palestinians in West Bank operations over the past week. The escalation occurs days before Israel holds elections on Tuesday. Netanyahu has made national security a central theme of his campaign for another term. He characterized the shooting as an attempt to influence the vote, citing a warning he issued weeks earlier about planned attacks. The Likud party stated that Netanyahu convened senior security chiefs on Friday. All campaign events scheduled for the remainder of the day were canceled. The attack follows a recent surge in violence in the West Bank. It also came after Brad Lander, a New York Democratic candidate for Congress, was briefly detained by Israeli forces this week. Lander was helping Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest when he was held.