Israeli Politicsupdated 54m ago3 min read
MapIsraeli Forces Launch West Bank Operations, Impose Full Siege of Hebron Before Elections
“At least five people have been killed in Gaza and more than a dozen have been wounded”
“It is Israel's first vote after these years of battle and bloodshed.”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Israeli forces conducted West Bank raids and Gaza strikes ahead of elections. Casualties were reported among Palestinians, including civilians, from the attacks.
www.timesofisrael › 5-palestinians-said-killed-in-gaza-strikes-idf-targe... was read line by line by the Watchdog: 6.1. See the score →
Election, Siege, and Hebron
Israeli forces launched major new military operations in the occupied West Bank ahead of Israeli parliamentary elections on Tuesday, after two Israeli soldiers were killed at a checkpoint near Hebron on Friday and the gunmen who carried out the attack were also killed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a full closure of the West Bank ahead of elections, and the military announced a “full siege” of the city of Hebron, as Netanyahu said he would “implement the successful and aggressive model we used in the refugee camps.” Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari said the actions were driven by the elections, telling reporters, “These actions by the Israeli occupation are driven by the elections.”
Municipal officials said about 86 acres of homes and buildings have been destroyed by Israel or marked for demolition, and Palestinian families said about 300 families, roughly 1,500 people, had been forced from their homes so far. The Israeli military installed concrete blocks and earth mounds on major roads leading into and out of Hebron while Palestinian authorities declared a state of emergency.
Gaza Strikes and Competing Claims
Israeli ground and air attacks killed at least five people in Gaza on Monday and wounded more than a dozen, with four Palestinians killed in an Israeli air attack on a camp for displaced people in Khan Younis, according to medical sources and first responders. Palestinian Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said a total of 11 people had been killed and 50 wounded by Israeli fire and air strikes in Gaza over the past 24 hours, and Al Jazeera reported that the deaths later rose to at least four in one hospital account. The Times of Israel said five Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday, while the Israeli military said it was “unaware” of any military activity in al-Mawasi on Monday.
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said three people killed in al-Mawasi “were torn apart by direct hits from shrapnel from the Israeli missile,” and Gaza’s Hamas-run Education Ministry gave Jouri al-Soufi’s age as 7. The IDF said it struck Mohammed Halawa, a Hamas intelligence officer, and Ahmed Zahir Fuad Abu-Odeh, an engineering officer, and it said it targeted three operatives who emerged from a tunnel in Khan Younis.
Iran, Postponement, and Stakes
As the election approached, reports said Netanyahu pushed for a joint US-Israel strike on Iran before the election, while Netanyahu and his office denied the reports and CNN reported that Trump did not approve. The Times of Israel said the law allows a Knesset to extend its four-year term and postpone elections only with a supermajority of 80 MKs and under “special circumstances,” and it quoted that “The special circumstances must be genuinely exceptional: a real emergency.” The Times of Israel also said the Knesset election could be delayed only if 80 MKs agreed that “special circumstances” do exist, and it described how judicial review by the High Court of Justice could determine whether the situation met the definition.
In Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Khaled Abu Muammar said, “We people of Gaza are seeking a lifeline, which could be represented by Netanyahu’s fall,” while he argued that re-electing Netanyahu would allow him to continue the war on any front he wants. In Israel, Yaakov Katz said Israelis accept Netanyahu’s argument that “no matter what we do, the whole world’s against us,” and he said, “People accept that argument, and to a large extent, they don’t push back on it.”