Israel vows major West Bank operation after attack kills 2 troops

Tel Aviv — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that he had ordered a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and told troops to cordon off a large city in the territory after a shooting attack by two Palestinian men that killed two soldiers.The Israeli military said forces killed the Palestinian gunmen after they opened fire at a junction near the West Bank city of Hebron. The military later confirmed that two soldiers, Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, were killed in the attack, while three others were lightly injured. Netanyahu said he had ordered the evacuation of residents from the neighborhood in Hebron where the gunmen lived ahead of a house-to-house sweep for weapons. "Our first step will be to demolish this site and completely transform it," Netanyahu said. Israeli forces stand guard in the Farsh Al Hawa area at the northern entrance to Hebron in the West Bank on Oct. 23, 2026. Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu/Getty He added that he ordered the IDF to cordon off Hebron, a city with more than 200,000 inhabitants. Netanyahu said a broader military operation would follow. "The IDF will enter the neighborhoods from which the te...