Israel razes homes of gunmen who carried out deadly Hebron shooting attack

The Israel Defense Forces on Friday razed the homes of the two gunmen who carried out last week’s deadly shooting attack on soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron. During the attack on October 23, Hebron residents Mohammad Jaaba and Firas Jaaba killed Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem. Roytman, a squad commander, and Svilem both served in the 775th “Ari” Battalion of the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade.

Three other soldiers from the battalion sustained light and moderate injuries in the shooting. The two Palestinian gunmen were shot dead at the scene following a 20-minute gunfight with Israeli soldiers. Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman (left) and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem (right), killed in a shooting attack by Palestinian gunmen near Hebron in the West Bank on October 23, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces) The military later confirmed troops operated in Hebron to raze the two homes, releasing video from one of the demolitions.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms Footage published earlier by Palestinian media also showed one of the homes being blown up. שבוע בלבד לאחר ההיתקלות בצומת יהודה: צה"ל הרס את בתיהם של שני המחבלים שחוסלו כוחות צה"ל והנדסה מיחידת יהל"ם בפיקוד חטיבת יהודה ואוגדה 98 פעלו בחברון מוקדם יותר היום, להריסת בתיהם של שני המחבלים מההיתקלות בצומת יהודה בה נפלו סמ"ר רון יונתן רויטמן ז"ל וסמל יובל שי סוילם ז״ל ונפצעו… pic.twitter.com/kCGg1Cz4o0 Advertisement — צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 30, 2026 Separately, the military said troops apprehended four Palestinian terror suspects on Thursday in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

Troops of the Duvdevan Commando Unit raided Jenin following intelligence provided by the Shin Bet on the whereabouts of the four wanted Palestinians, according to the IDF, which said the four were “terrorists who traded in weapons” and had been part of a former terror network in Jenin. They were taken to be questioned by the Shin Bet, the army added. Illustrative: IDF troops operate in the village of Beita, south of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, October 28, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90) Also Friday, Palestinian media outlets reported that settlers set fire to a building overnight in the area of the South Hebron Hills in the southern West Bank.

There were no reports of injuries. Advertisement Police said they had launched an investigation into suspected property damage, graffiti vandalism and the suspected arson of an unoccupied building. “Police officers from the Hebron station and forensic investigators from the Judea and Samaria District are at the scene, under IDF protection, and have begun collecting evidence and taking witness statements as part of the investigation,” police said.

A new attack.. Extremist Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian home in the village of Maeen, South Hebron Hills. pic.twitter.com/aNLn8Bg4Mo — Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) October 30, 2026 The incident came days after Palestinian media outlets reported that two Palestinians were injured in a settler attack near another Palestinian village in the Hebron area. Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.

More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks. During the same period, 67 civilians and Israeli security personnel have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

Advertisement The same period has also seen a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank. The IDF recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025. The total for 2024 was 682 incidents. Critics accuse the government of condoning and even encouraging the violence, which has led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers have regularly downplayed the burgeoning violence as a marginal concern, claiming that nearly all incidents are the work of a few hundred wayward youths.

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