Israel evacuates Hebron homes as leaders warn of possible Iranian bid to disrupt election
Israel’s military has ordered about 1,500 Palestinians out of their homes in Hebron and plans to displace another 2,500 after an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, while national forces move to higher readiness and Benjamin Netanyahu warns that Iran and its proxies may try to hit Israel to disrupt Tuesday’s election.
Forced evacuations in Hebron are unfolding as Israel braces for possible external attacks linked to its upcoming election. The Israeli military has ordered roughly 1,500 people to leave their homes in the city, also known as Al‑Khalil, and plans to displace another 2,500 residents. The operation follows a shooting attack in the area on Friday in which two Israeli soldiers were killed.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the operation, which includes marking homes, banning the use of vehicles, and moving residents out of parts of the city. Reporting says hundreds of families now face immediate uncertainty about housing, work, and schooling as they wait to see whether the measures remain temporary or harden into longer-term displacement.
Netanyahu has linked the security posture around the country to fears of external attacks. He said Israel has "intelligence indications" that Iran and its proxies may attempt to strike in order to disrupt Tuesday’s election, warning, "Don't test us." The newspaper Israel Hayom reported that military readiness has been raised throughout Israel, though it did not detail specific alert levels or deployments.
In parallel, the Israeli military is striking targets in Gaza. An Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle attacked a Hamas police security post near the Islamic University in Gaza twice in one day, the same post reportedly hit in the morning. Three people were killed in the later strike. Across five strikes in the Gaza Strip since morning, a total of seven people have been reported killed. An additional UAV strike in the Sheikh Nassr area resulted in another fatality, bringing the day’s reported toll from these air operations to eight.
Other military activity continues in the West Bank under the broader framework Israel uses for the area, which it calls Judea and Samaria. The IDF says it has overseen a coordinated olive harvest on approximately 220,000 dunams of land there, with around 100 harvest points carried out under the protection of security forces. It estimates about 22,500 tons of olives have been harvested so far, from which roughly 5,500 liters of olive oil are expected. The figures illustrate how even seasonal agricultural work is tightly managed alongside raids, checkpoints, and now mass evacuation orders.
For Palestinian residents of Hebron, the latest measures mean marked homes, empty streets where vehicles once ran, and the prospect of being moved with little clarity on duration or destination. For Israelis, especially in contested areas and border regions, the government is signaling that it is ready to use broad pre‑emptive steps in the West Bank and Gaza as it prepares for any action Iran or allied groups might take around election day.
How far these policies go will depend on what happens in the coming days. Signs to watch include whether Israel releases more detail on the alleged Iranian or proxy plots, any attempted attacks around Tuesday’s vote, and whether Hebron’s displacement orders extend beyond the currently cited 4,000 people. Reactions from European and Arab governments to both the elevated readiness and the scope of evacuations may also influence what steps Israeli authorities take after the election.
Sources
- OSINT