Israeli siege forces more than 530 families from their homes in Hebron
More than 530 Palestinian families have been forced from their homes in Hebron during a citywide lockdown now in its second week, with over 1,000 children among those displaced.
Israeli forces have forced more than 530 Palestinian families from their homes in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, during a citywide lockdown that has now entered its second week, according to residents and local accounts reported on Friday.
Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin said on Thursday that 537 families, comprising 3,361 people, had been forced from their homes, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The displaced include 232 infants, 326 older people, 147 pregnant or breastfeeding women and 213 people with chronic illnesses, the governor's figures showed.
The lockdown began on Friday, October 23, after two Palestinian men allegedly shot and killed two Israeli soldiers near a military checkpoint in Hebron. Both attackers were also killed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then announced that he had ordered security forces to close Hebron immediately and prepare for a wider lockdown across the West Bank.
Since then, Israeli forces have closed the entrances and exits of Hebron and sealed off the al-Jalda and Deir Baha areas, where the evictions have been concentrated. Residents say soldiers have carried out daily raids on homes, searched properties and, in some cases, turned houses into temporary military positions, while hundreds more families remain trapped inside their homes, unable to move or receive aid.
Al Jazeera's reporting from the occupied West Bank said more than 1,000 children and 200 toddlers were among those displaced, and that residents reported being assaulted by soldiers when they tried to return for essential belongings or medication. Most displaced families are staying with relatives, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which has called for further forced displacements and demolitions to be prevented.
Municipal figures put the total number of people affected, including those under siege as well as those displaced, at about 5,000 people from 780 families. That wider total, analysed from municipal data, includes 441 older people, 336 infants under two, 312 patients with chronic diseases, more than 200 pregnant or nursing women and 44 people with disabilities.
Education across the governorate has been badly disrupted. The governor said the offensive had affected about 262,000 students across 589 schools this week, forcing schools to move to remote learning as movement restrictions made normal attendance impossible.
The economic cost is also mounting. Officials estimated daily losses at 10 million to 12 million shekels, equivalent to about $3.2 million to $3.9 million, while the Hebron Chamber of Commerce put the direct daily losses from the closures at about 12 million shekels, including about one million shekels a day in the dairy sector alone.
The Israeli army has said the operation aims to thwart terrorism by searching for suspects, making arrests and confiscating weapons. Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Palestinians will not be allowed to return to their homes until Hamas's infrastructure in the area is dismantled, a position that has alarmed residents who fear a prolonged displacement.
No end date for the lockdown has been announced. Some residents have reported being told the restrictions could remain in place for months, although that has not been confirmed as official policy, and humanitarian agencies continue to warn that the longer the siege lasts, the harder it will be for displaced families, schools and businesses in Hebron to recover.
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