Two Israeli Soldiers Killed in West Bank Shooting, Netanyahu Orders Territory Closed

Two Israeli soldiers were killed on Friday in an attack by Palestinian gunmen in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said. The two attackers also died, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by ordering the closure of the Palestinian territory.

According to the army, the shooting happened near the Yehuda Junction, outside the city of Hebron. Three other soldiers were lightly wounded. The military said it had foiled a "terror attack against Israeli civilians" and identified the two suspects as Palestinians from Hebron, armed with an M16 assault rifle and a handgun.

The army said the men reached an Israeli military position in the morning, setting off an exchange of fire that lasted about 20 minutes. Israeli troops then killed both gunmen.

Emergency responders reported five people injured, some critically, who were taken to hospitals in Israel. Two men in their 20s suffered gunshot wounds to the lower limbs, and one person was unconscious and seriously hurt. "We arrived at a difficult scene while shooting was still taking place in the area," said Tzuriel Edri of the response team. Authorities said an investigation was underway.

Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting of his security cabinet with senior military and security officials. His office said security forces were told to cordon off Hebron immediately and prepare to close the entire West Bank starting Friday. Netanyahu blamed Hamas, saying the group was "planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians," though he did not explain what the planned attack involved. He added that "our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination."

Later in the day, the army said it had begun "precise, targeted and thorough searches" in the part of Hebron where the gunmen were said to have operated. The operation is expected to last several days, and residents of the area will be able to leave only through three designated exit points after "questioning and security screening." The military also said it had started demolishing infrastructure that poses a "threat." Army chief of staff Eyal Zamir said a "large quantity of ammunition was found" in a vehicle used by the attackers, intended for a "larger-scale attack."

The army added that its forces and Israeli security agencies carried out dozens of operations across the West Bank on Friday, arresting dozens of people, including some affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and seizing weapons such as M16 rifles and submachine guns.

The violence comes as Israeli voters are set to decide next Tuesday whether to give Netanyahu another term. Ahead of the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, he said Hamas could try to strike Israel to influence the election, but offered no evidence. West Bank closures are becoming more frequent: this is the fourth time in the past month that Israel has restricted movement across the territory by shutting gates and checkpoints linking Palestinian villages to main roads.

Netanyahu said the military would force Palestinians out of the Hebron neighbourhood from which he said the attackers came, comparing the approach to Israel's assaults on two Palestinian refugee camps in 2025. Human Rights Watch has said such expulsions amount to war crimes, which Israel rejects. U.S. congressional candidate Brad Lander, who was in the West Bank on Friday and was detained by Israeli forces on Wednesday, called the closure part of an effort "to take more control, to make Palestinian life impossible." The West Bank has also seen a surge in settler violence during this year's olive harvest, which Amnesty International said has become "a season of horror" for Palestinian families.