Two Soldiers Killed in Hebron Shooting

Two Israeli soldiers died on Friday after two Palestinian men opened fire at a junction near Hebron. The Israeli military confirmed the attackers were killed by forces at the scene. Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem were identified as the dead troops. Three other soldiers sustained light injuries in the attack.

The army stated that the shooters used an M16 rifle and a handgun. A large quantity of weapons and ammunition was found in the attackers' vehicle. Military officials said the cache indicated the gunmen had planned a major attack on civilians. The unit began offensive counterterrorism operations in the area immediately after the shooting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered residents evacuated from the Hebron neighborhood where the gunmen lived. He instructed troops to cordon off the city and conduct a house-to-house search for weapons. Hebron is home to more than 200,000 people. Netanyahu said the first step would be to demolish the specific site and completely transform it.

The prime minister announced that a wider campaign would follow the initial cordon. He stated that the Israel Defense Forces would enter the neighborhoods from which the attackers emerged. He said troops would evacuate residents and dismantle the terror infrastructure in the area. Netanyahu described the operation as extensive in Judea and Samaria, the Israeli name for the West Bank.

The military reported that soldiers were operating inside the homes of the attackers and other suspects. It also said forces had arrested around 70 wanted Palestinians during operations in the West Bank over the past week. The escalation occurs days before national elections scheduled for Tuesday. Netanyahu has made national security a central theme of his campaign for another term.

Netanyahu characterized the shooting as an attempt to influence the vote. He recalled a warning issued weeks earlier that Israel's enemies were preparing attacks to sway the election. His Likud party said senior security chiefs convened on Friday. All campaign events for the rest of the day were canceled. The attack follows a recent surge in violence in the region.

Hamas called the attack heroic and a legitimate response to ongoing crimes against its people. The group did not claim responsibility for the specific incident. It urged armed Palestinians in the West Bank to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians. The violence also followed the brief detention of New York Democratic candidate Brad Lander by Israeli forces this week while he helped with the olive harvest.