Arabic version: قوات إسرائيلية تسوّي حياً في الخليل بالأرض بعد هجوم على حاجز

According to The Guardian, Israeli troops levelled a neighbourhood in Hebron’s Ein Deir Baha district after an attack on a military checkpoint outside the West Bank city. Local Palestinian authorities said hundreds of families were driven from their homes.

The Hebron municipality said 35 hectares, or 86 acres, had been destroyed or marked for destruction and that about 1,500 people had been evicted by Saturday afternoon. It said about 300 families had been forced out, while the city’s 250,000 residents were sealed off by checkpoints at every entry point.

Videos sent by a Hebron resident showed houses flattened across several blocks, soldiers marking Palestinian homes with sprayed black crosses, and a bulldozer demolishing a stone wall. A large residential building displaying Israeli flags was described by residents as the home of a prominent Hebron family used as a temporary military headquarters.

The demolitions followed a Friday attack by two gunmen on an Israeli military checkpoint. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three were injured after a 20-minute gunfight; the two gunmen were also killed. Ein Deir Baha was alleged to be their home district.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “act to destroy this place”. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had ordered the immediate demolition of what he called illegal Arab structures near the attack site. Palestinian civil rights activist Issa Amro said families unconnected to the attack were being collectively punished. The Israeli army was approached for comment on the operations and footage of the destruction.