Israel Orders Full West Bank Lockdown After Hebron Checkpoint Shooting Kills Two Soldiers

World · Published 24 October 2026

On Friday, 23 October 2026, gunmen opened fire on soldiers at a military checkpoint around Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said it killed the two attackers. Al Jazeera, citing Israeli sources, reported that the attack killed two Israeli soldiers, and ABC News carried the same account. The National reported that five people were injured, two of them in critical condition. Witnesses told Al Jazeera that the shooting lasted about 20 minutes, which made it harder to evacuate the wounded.

The military said the two suspects were armed with a rifle and a handgun and had planned a “large-scale” attack on Israelis. Chief of Staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir described the attack as serious and said a large quantity of ammunition was found in the vehicle the attackers arrived in. Palestinian media named the two men, and Hamas praised the attack without claiming responsibility, according to The National’s report. This article does not name them, since the identities rest on Palestinian media reports that the sources have not independently checked.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on social media that he had ordered security forces to prepare for a full lockdown across the West Bank, which he described as “all of Judea and Samaria,” starting that day. His office said he had also instructed the military and security forces to impose a cordon around Hebron immediately. In later remarks he said Israel was closing the cities of Hebron and Halhul. He also cancelled election-related events ahead of next week’s national poll, according to Al Jazeera.

Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that “the Jenin refugee camp model arrives in Hebron,” and said neighbourhoods the attackers came from would be evacuated and their “terror infrastructure” dismantled. The reference points to earlier large-scale military operations in refugee camps in the north of the West Bank. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Israel to take full control of the West Bank, Al Jazeera reported.

The attack came after a day of raids. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces arrested 36 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank on Thursday, the day before the shooting. The article attributes the individual arrest counts to Palestinian bodies, including the Wafa news agency, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and a local commission, and says that after the shooting the military detained two more Palestinians.

Why it matters: a full closure restricts movement for a large Palestinian population and for Israelis who travel through the area, and it can affect access to markets, schools and medical care. The closure order also comes in the middle of an election campaign. The defence minister’s comparison to Jenin suggests a more forceful operation than a routine closure, but the sources do not set out its scope or how the order will be applied street by street.

Several things remain unknown. None of the sources read for this article gives the length of the lockdown, and the orders describe closures and cordons without an end date. The scope of the planned evacuations and demolitions in Hebron is not set out in detail. It is also unclear whether further attacks, arrests or clashes followed the closure order. Official Israeli statements and the military’s own updates are the best place to track changes to the order.

The sources for this article are the Al Jazeera report, The National’s report, and ABC News coverage of the closure. NPR also reported the closure with the same core facts, but its page could not be read in full.

This article was researched and written by an AI system from the sources listed above, under SavvyToolz's sourcing and freshness rules. Read the editorial policy.