Israeli forces withdrew from a neighbourhood in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Monday, ending a military operation launched after two Israeli soldiers were killed in late October. Thousands of Palestinians displaced during the raid have begun returning to homes, many of which were damaged or ransacked.

Palestinians protest against an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron as Israeli soldiers stand nearby, November 1, 2026. © Mahmoud Illean, AP

The Israeli army has pulled back following an operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron launched in the wake of an attack that killed two soldiers in late October, a military official said Monday.

The operation had emptied a neighbourhood in the West Bank's largest city where the two gunmen had lived. AFP journalists witnessed residents returning to their homes on Monday after the military left.

"This morning, following the completion of all operational activities, the soldiers withdrew from the area of operation in Hebron. Counterterrorism activities throughout Judea and Samaria continue," the official said, using the biblical name for the Palestinian territory.

On October 23, days ahead of close-fought Israeli elections, two Palestinian gunmen attacked an army checkpoint near Hebron, killing two soldiers and prompting promises of a major retaliatory operation from senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

By the following morning, the military had cleared out the residents of the assailants' neighbourhood, displacing more than 3,000 people, according to the municipality.

Two Palestinian men stand together near a building marked by the Israeli military in the occupied city of Hebron in the West Bank on November 2, 2026. © Mussa Qawasma, Reuters

The military official said that "soldiers conducted thorough searches of multiple locations, detained and questioned suspects, and located and confiscated four weapons, several vests, and additional military equipment". 

They also demolished the two attackers' homes and "sealed an underground space located next to" one of them.

Muhannad al-Tamimi, whose house was occupied by soldiers since the operation began, told AFP his family came back to a trashed apartment with furniture and clothing strewn on the floors, mattresses overturned and a child's bicycle broken.