Hebron families return to ruined homes as Israeli troops end a 10-day operation
About 3,300 Palestinians returned on Monday 2 November to their homes in Hebron's Ein Deir Bahha and al-Jalda neighbourhoods, after Israeli forces withdrew at the end of a 10-day operation in the city. The operation was launched after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a Hebron checkpoint on 23 October. The UN put the displaced at more than 3,000, while UNICEF counted 4,304 displaced by 29 October. Returning residents found homes demolished or ransacked; local officials said 15 facilities were demolished, including three homes — a scale Reuters reported remained unclear. The Israeli military said its troops searched locations, detained and questioned suspects, confiscated four weapons and demolished the attackers' homes.
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Key points
- About 3,300 people returned to two Hebron neighbourhoods on 2 November as Israeli troops withdrew after 10 days.
- The operation followed the killing of two Israeli soldiers at a Hebron checkpoint on 23 October.
- Displacement counts differ: more than 3,000 (UN), 4,304 by 29 October (UNICEF), about 5,000 (Adalah).
- Residents found homes demolished or ransacked; Reuters says the full scale of the demolitions is unclear.
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What happened
The operation sealed the Ein Deir Bahha and al-Jalda neighbourhoods for 10 days: schools, universities and businesses closed, and the governorate says about 80,000 students were kept out of education while it ran.
Demolishing attackers' homes is Israel's stated deterrence policy, and Palestinian officials and rights groups call it collective punishment. In Hebron both descriptions are now attached to the same streets: the military says it demolished the attackers' homes and confiscated weapons, while the governorate is still counting what else was destroyed.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · The Israeli military
- Troops conducted thorough searches of multiple locations, detained and questioned suspects, and confiscated four weapons, several vests and additional military equipment.
- The military demolished the homes of the two gunmen who killed two soldiers at a Hebron checkpoint on 23 October.
Side B · Hebron's officials and residents
- More than 3,000 people were forced from their homes for 10 days; the governorate's relief committee registered 537 families — 3,361 people.
- Fifteen facilities were demolished and 327 shops shuttered, and residents came back to homes with doors blown off and contents smashed.
Independently verified
Israeli forces withdrew from the Ein Deir Bahha and al-Jalda areas of Hebron on Monday 2 November, and Hebron's governor announced that families could return home. The withdrawal ended a 10-day operation, ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that began after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the city on 23 October; the two gunmen were also killed, and three other soldiers were wounded. An Israeli military official told Reuters that troops 'conducted thorough searches of multiple locations, detained and questioned suspects, and located and confiscated four weapons, several vests and additional military equipment', and the military said it had demolished the homes of the two attackers.Not yet verified
Residents returning home described doors blown off, furniture smashed and homes ransacked. Hebron officials said 15 facilities were demolished, including three homes — two of them the attackers' — that 327 shops had been shuttered, and that infrastructure damage exceeded 6 million shekels (about $1.9m), with direct economic losses above 12 million shekels a day. Reuters reported that beyond the attackers' homes, 'the scale of the demolitions is unclear'; a governorate field team was formed to assess the damage.Claim by claim
Why this label: Reuters' report of the withdrawal and the governor's announcement, read in full; the 23 October attack, the operation's length and the order for it are in the same report and in Al Jazeera's account.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The military's own account, given to Reuters; carried as its account of the operation.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Four counts from four bodies, taken at different points in the 10 days; they are carried side by side rather than merged into one figure.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Show all claims (1 more)
Why this label: The officials' figures are their figures, reported by Al Jazeera and Xinhua; Reuters, the wire reporting from the city, says the total demolition scale is not established.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- Troops withdrew and families returned on 2 November, after 10 days, on Reuters' and Al Jazeera's reporting.
- The military demolished the two attackers' homes and says it confiscated four weapons.
What we don't know yet
- The full scale of the demolitions — Reuters says it is unclear, and the governorate's assessment team had only just been formed.
- Whether anyone was killed or injured during the operation itself — no casualties during the 10 days were reported in the sources read.
- The final economic loss — the officials' daily figures are estimates, not an audited total.
Why it matters
For the families who returned, the argument is not abstract: it is whether the house still stands. The counts of the displaced already differ by thousands between the bodies recording them, and the damage will be argued the same way — which is why this page carries each figure with the body that produced it.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
Palestinian gunmen kill two Israeli soldiers at a Hebron checkpoint; the gunmen are killed and three other soldiers are wounded.
Israeli forces seal Ein Deir Bahha and al-Jalda for a 10-day operation; thousands of residents leave or are ordered out.
UNICEF counts 4,304 displaced, including 1,845 children.
Troops withdraw; the governor announces families can return, and about 3,300 come home.
Update history
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Published in Checking state — checking continues, and claims are labelled as reporting develops. Basis: Reuters' report of the withdrawal and return, and Al Jazeera's reporting from the two neighbourhoods.