Times of Israel, on West Bank, 25 October 2026

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IDF troops seal homes of 2 gunmen who killed 2 soldiers near Hebron

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IDF troops seal homes of 2 gunmen who killed 2 soldiers near Hebron

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF troops sealed the homes of the two Palestinian gunmen who carried out Friday’s deadly shooting attack against soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron.

The military says that overnight, troops operating in Hebron sealed the homes of Mohammad and Firas Jaaba, who killed Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem and wounded three other troops in the shooting attack.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks. Sealing the homes of attackers is often a replacement or stopgap for demolishing them. In general, the demolition process takes several months, as the High Court must address appeals by the family, and security forces often wait for an optimal time to enter Palestinian cities or neighborhoods for the operation.

The IDF says the temporary sealing of the homes was approved by Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, and that the military “intends to continue to advance the process of demolishing their homes.”

Meanwhile, during the ongoing operations in Hebron.

Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture

The article calls the army's actions 'ongoing operations in Hebron' and never says that Israeli forces sealed off Hebron and nearby Halhul after the attack, barring entry and exit for a city of about 250,000 people. It also leaves out reports that troops forced residents out and took over their homes as barracks. Without this, a reader believes the operation consists of targeted arrests and weapons seizures rather than a closure of a whole city.

How we know

The Times of Israel Community.

Read the original article on timesofisrael.com (opens in a new tab)
What we found (3)

The Times of Israel reports the sealing of the two attackers' homes entirely through the Israeli military's statements, and no Palestinian voice appears. It names the soldiers' killers in active voice but writes the attackers' deaths without saying who shot them. It calls the army's actions in Hebron 'ongoing operations' and never says the city of about 250,000 people was under closure.

  1. Hides who did it

    Minor

    “Both gunmen were shot dead.”

    Why this matters
    The words 'were shot dead' remove the shooter from the sentence. The article names the Palestinians who killed the soldiers in active voice, but the two Palestinians' own deaths have no actor.
    The impression it gives
    A reader learns the two men died but is not told, in this article, who killed them.
    The context
    Other reports of the same event say Israeli soldiers killed them. Haaretz reports the IOF said it killed the two assailants, and Ynet reports soldiers of the Ari Battalion killed them. The killing is not hidden in a way that changes who the men were, but the sentence treats the two sets of deaths differently.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

  2. One side gets the space

    Minor

    “the army says that troops apprehended 12 suspects overnight, seized “illegal vehicles,” and captured several weapons”

    Why this matters
    The article closes on the army's own account of its night in Hebron, as it builds every factual passage from the military's statements.
    The impression it gives
    A reader takes the army's description of arrests and seizures as the full account of what happened in Hebron overnight.
    The context
    No family member, Palestinian official, resident or Palestinian news agency is quoted, although the story concerns Palestinian homes being sealed. Anadolu, citing Wafa, reported on the same operation that residents were forced out and their homes turned into military posts.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

  3. Leaves out what changes the picture

    Minor

    What is missing

    The article calls the army's actions 'ongoing operations in Hebron' and never says that Israeli forces sealed off Hebron and nearby Halhul after the attack, barring entry and exit for a city of about 250,000 people. It also leaves out reports that troops forced residents out and took over their homes as barracks. Without this, a reader believes the operation consists of targeted arrests and weapons seizures rather than a closure of a whole city.

    How we know

    Show where it belongs

What it gets right

  • “Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks”

    The article describes the policy as applying to people accused, not proven, and does not state the label as established fact.

  • “The military says that overnight”

    The article attributes the army's account to the army, so the reader knows whose claim it is.

How other outlets reported it

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