Two Israeli soldiers and two gunmen killed near Hebron; Netanyahu says major West Bank operation is coming

Update (23 Oct 2026): Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the shooting near Hebron, according to the BBC, AP, The Guardian and The Hindu. Earlier reports had described only wounded. Netanyahu visited the site and said Israel was preparing an extensive military operation in the West Bank, and the military said it had begun raids on the attackers' homes.

Two Israeli soldiers and two gunmen were killed in a shooting at a military checkpoint at or near the entrance to Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on Friday, 23 October 2026, according to the BBC, AP, The Guardian and The Hindu. Those outlets reported that Israeli forces shot dead the two suspected Palestinian attackers. Al Jazeera and the South China Morning Post (SCMP) had earlier reported that the two men were Palestinians. The names of the soldiers and the attackers were not released.

The number of wounded is disputed:

• Three wounded: Officials cited by the BBC, and the army as cited by The Hindu, said three Israelis were wounded.
• Five wounded: A preliminary military investigation cited by The Guardian said five Israelis were wounded, two of whom later died. Rescuers cited by The Hindu earlier said five people were wounded, two of them seriously. This figure may include the two soldiers who died.
• Earlier reports: DW, France 24 and SCMP had reported at least five wounded. DW and France 24 said several were in critical condition, and SCMP described all five as Israelis.

There was a gun battle between the two attackers and Israeli forces, according to the BBC, The Guardian and The Hindu. An AFP photographer who witnessed it saw two men armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle, and footage the BBC says it verified shows an intense gun battle. The BBC also cited unverified CCTV footage showing two gunmen leaving a car, armed with what appears to be a handgun and an assault rifle. In that footage they open fire on soldiers at the checkpoint before coming under return fire. The Israeli military said the rifle was an M16, France 24 reported. A preliminary military investigation found that the gunfight lasted more than 20 minutes, according to The Guardian. The BBC reported that the military said it found a large quantity of ammunition in the attackers' vehicle. France 24 quoted emergency responder Tzuriel Edri as saying: "We arrived at a difficult scene while shooting was still taking place in the area."

The Hindu identified the site as the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint, while The Guardian, citing the Israel Defense Forces, described it as a temporary checkpoint outside Hebron. SCMP, citing an AFP journalist, had also placed the gun battle at Farsh al-Hawa. The AFP photographer saw the attackers' bodies next to a petrol station. The army described the area as the "Judea Junction" and said the soldiers "fell in combat in the Judea Junction", The Hindu reported.

The Israeli military said it thwarted a "terror attack" by two armed Palestinians. It said it believes the gunmen intended a larger attack on civilians on nearby Route 35 but ran into the checkpoint and opened fire there instead. The military said it had "launched offensive counter-terrorism operations in the Hebron area", The Hindu reported, and had begun raids on the attackers' homes, according to the BBC and The Hindu.

In a statement quoted by DW, Netanyahu told the military to "impose a cordon on the city of Hebron and to prepare for a full closure of the entire West Bank starting today." The BBC, The Guardian and The Hindu reported that he ordered the military to prepare for a full lockdown of the West Bank from Friday. According to The Guardian, his office also instructed security forces to cordon off Hebron immediately. The Guardian reported that he held an emergency meeting of his security cabinet and senior military and security officials after the shooting. He also said Likud party campaign events and political meetings scheduled for Friday would be cancelled, according to the BBC and The Hindu.

Netanyahu visited the site later on Friday. According to The Hindu, he said Israel was "considering a very extensive IDF (army) operation in Judea and Samaria, such as has not been carried out since" 1967. He added: "The IDF is ready to execute it and we will set the timing, but it is on the way." His office quoted him as saying: "We will evacuate the residents, we will go from house to house, we will also seize the weapons there, and all the terrorist infrastructure will be dealt with and destroyed", The Guardian reported.

Netanyahu said the operation would apply a model used in northern West Bank refugee camps. The UN has described displacement from the January 2025 operation in those camps differently in the reports. The Guardian cites the UN rights office as saying tens of thousands were forcibly displaced, while The Hindu cites the UN as saying thousands were.

Netanyahu said Hamas was "planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians", according to The Guardian. He said the soldiers "prevented what could have been a major attack" and told Hamas: "You have no place to hide", The Hindu reported.

The military set up roadblocks around Palestinian towns in the area, according to DW and France 24. The Guardian reported that Friday's lockdown was the fourth time in the past month that Israel had imposed restrictions across the West Bank. Gates and checkpoints linking Palestinian villages to major roads were shut, while those roads stayed open to Israeli drivers, including settlers. According to Israeli media cited by the BBC, the West Bank was already expected to be locked down on Monday and Tuesday for the election. Israel votes on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a defence ministry role, said he had ordered the demolition of several Palestinian buildings adjacent to the attack site, the BBC reported. The Hindu quoted him as saying he "ordered the immediate demolition of a wide row of illegal Arab structures adjacent to the attack site". Smotrich also called for a military campaign to dismantle the Palestinian Authority. The reports give his words differently:

• The Guardian: "There is no other option but a comprehensive military campaign to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, collect weapons and eliminate terrorists. Exactly like in Gaza and Lebanon." He added: "In the next government this will be one of the first measures that we must demand and apply."
• The Hindu: It renders the comparison as "exactly like in Gaza".
• The BBC: It paraphrases him as calling for a campaign "exactly like in Gaza or Lebanon".

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the Palestinian Authority should be "dismantled and demilitarised, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely", The Hindu reported. The Hindu also reported that no evidence suggests the Palestinian Authority was connected to the attack.

The reports differ on Israel Katz's post: the BBC calls him foreign minister and The Hindu calls him defence minister. On Thursday, before the attack, Katz accused opposition leaders of undermining the government by criticising Netanyahu's warnings of an attack, according to the BBC. He said they would be "responsible" for any future attack.

Opposition leaders, including Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett, offered condolences to those injured and praised the troops who killed the attackers, the BBC reported. The Hindu reported that Eisenkot praised the troops' response. "Like all Israelis, I pray for the complete and quick recovery of the injured," Eisenkot said, according to The Hindu.

Hamas praised the attack and mourned the two dead assailants but did not claim responsibility, The Hindu reported. In a statement, Hamas called the attack a "heroic operation" and a "natural and legitimate response to the ongoing crimes and brutal attacks against our people". It urged supporters with weapons to "mobilise fully and turn the land into a fire beneath the feet of the invaders".

Human rights groups, which were not named, warned that Netanyahu's government could use the attack to justify tougher measures against Palestinians and to bolster its security credentials before the election, The Guardian reported. Yariv Oppenheimer, former director of Peace Now, told Al Jazeera that he expects house demolitions, curfews, arrests and possible settler revenge attacks on Palestinians, according to The Guardian. "Every day in the West Bank is a dramatic day for the Palestinians," he said.

Context: The BBC, The Guardian and The Hindu reported that the attack came amid heightened tensions in the West Bank, including attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians during the annual olive harvest.

• Recent settler attacks: According to The Guardian, settlers attacked Palestinian villages on 16 October, burning cars and trees and injuring a Washington Post photographer. The next day they attacked European diplomats, a French mayor and Palestinian olive pickers, injuring three people and damaging a diplomatic vehicle.
• Deaths in 2026: According to the UN, as cited by the BBC, at least 96 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the start of 2026. Four Israelis, security forces and civilians, have been killed by Palestinians there over the same period.
• Palestinian deaths since October 2023: The Guardian and The Hindu reported that more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the Gaza war began in October 2023. The Hindu cites 1,113, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data.
• Israeli deaths since October 2023: Israeli figures cited by The Hindu show at least 49 Israelis, civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since October 2023.

What is not yet known:

• Identities: The reports do not identify the two soldiers or the two attackers.
• Affiliation: They do not establish whether the attackers were affiliated with any group.
• Evidence: They do not describe the evidence behind Netanyahu's statement that Hamas was planning a major attack, or behind the military's assessment that the gunmen were targeting Route 35.
• Wounded: The final number of wounded and their condition remain unclear. France 24 had earlier cited responders as saying two men in their 20s had gunshot wounds to their lower limbs, one of them unconscious and seriously injured.
• Operation and closure: The timing, duration and scope of the announced operation are not given. The West Bank closure was to begin on Friday, but its duration and scope are not given, nor is the number of residents who could be displaced.
• Raids and demolitions: The outcome of the home raids and the demolitions already announced is not described.
• Palestinian response: The reports include no response from the Palestinian Authority or from Hebron residents.
• France 24 video: A France 24 video report is headlined "Israel launches West Bank operations", but no accompanying text was available for review.
• Investigation: France 24 reported earlier that authorities had opened an investigation.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.