West Bankupdated 1h ago2 min read
MapIsraeli Soldiers Order Hebron Families Out Within One Hour, Ibrahimi Mosque Closes
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4,969 Palestinians from 780 families displaced in Deir Bahha and al-Jilda since Friday. The UN warned the Hebron operation risks ethnic cleansing.
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Hebron families flee
Dozens of Israeli soldiers stormed Muammar al-Awiwi’s home in Hebron’s Deir Bahha neighborhood at dawn on October 24 and ordered the family to leave immediately. Muammar al-Awiwi said, “We only took our ID papers and some clothes, quickly,” and he added, “They didn’t let us take anything else from the house”. Umm Yazan, Majda Hussein Shweiki al-Ja’ba, said the soldiers “told us we had to leave within one hour, and that everyone had to go”.
Hebron’s municipality registered 407 affected families totaling 2,649 people, and Hebron mayor Yousef al-Ja’bari said 168 families had no safe place to stay. The Ibrahimi Mosque closed to Muslim worshipers as the Israeli military operation sealed Hebron’s entrances and exits and restricted movement inside neighborhoods.
Displacement and lockdown
Al Jazeera reported that Haidar Yahya Tamimi, a 27-year-old groom in Hebron, was forced to leave his home in the al-Jalada neighbourhood and that his wedding was postponed indefinitely. Haidar said, “I looked at the house and saw that my dream was supposed to happen here, but it has been postponed indefinitely,” and he added that he could not get any closer due to the presence of the Israeli military. The Times of Israel said the operation displaced thousands of Palestinian residents and that the military found an M16 assault rifle during searches in Hebron, bringing the total to three firearms found in the raid that began six days ago.
The UN warned that the Israeli operation raises serious concerns of “ethnic cleansing,” and UN rights chief Volker Turk said, “Those who have been displaced must be allowed to return home.” The Times of Israel reported that UN concerns followed Friday’s attack in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near Hebron and were killed in a shootout.
Legal fights and aid needs
The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF did not give families ample time to pack before they were made to evacuate their homes and that it had not offered any assurances on whether and when they will be allowed to return, Riyad Khamis said. Khamis told the Post that 407 households comprising 2,649 people were affected, and he said some families were forced to spend the night outdoors. Physicians for Human Rights Israel director Milena Ansari warned that disruption of routine for chronically sick and disabled people might create an emergency, and she said, “These arbitrary closures interrupt that care.”
The IDF insisted in a statement to The Post that civilians were allowed to voluntarily leave through designated, safe corridors and that “Once military activity in the area concludes, and in accordance with the law, residents will be permitted to return to their homes immediately.” The UN said the sweeping steps raised grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force that “must end,” while the Hebron Governorate’s relief and support committee listed urgent needs including food, cash assistance, medicine, and psychosocial support.