Iran war live: Israel launches ‘targeted’ Hebron operation after attack
Israel has launched a "targeted and thorough" military operation in Hebron after a shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, marking a significant new escalation in the West Bank.
Israeli forces have launched what is being described as a "targeted and thorough" military operation in Hebron, escalating the military response after a shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded several others, according to Al Jazeera's live coverage.
The operation, reported in the network's Saturday live blog, marks a significant new development in the rapidly worsening violence across the occupied West Bank. Israel's military said it had killed two Palestinian suspects in connection with the shooting that claimed the soldiers' lives.
The move follows the full closure of the occupied West Bank imposed after the two soldiers were killed. Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, condemned the measures, telling Al Jazeera the closure was turning every city and village into "a small prison" of checkpoints and gates.
The operation comes after a week of spiraling violence in the territory. On Friday, Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian gunmen at a checkpoint north of Hebron after an exchange of fire, in which at least six Israeli soldiers were injured. That incident prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order a territory-wide lockdown of the West Bank, declaring that security forces had prevented a "major attack."
Hebron, the largest city in the West Bank, has long been a flashpoint. The latest operation adds to a pattern of intensifying Israeli raids across the territory as tensions continue to soar ahead of Israel's elections.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.