Hundreds of soldiers backed by armored vehicles stormed the Palestinian town, imposing a lockdown and installing new iron gates.
Published on January 19, 2026
The Israeli army has launched a “large-scale” operation in Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, deploying hundreds of soldiers and heavy machinery in a move that has paralyzed the city’s southern districts.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, the Israeli military and the internal security service, Shin Bet, confirmed the offensive, which was aimed at “interrupting terrorist infrastructure” and seizing weapons in the Jebel Zohar area.
Recommended stories
4 List of itemsEnd of list
The military warned that the operation would continue for “several days”.
‘Defensive shield’ tactics
Reporting from the scene, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Montaser Nasser described the state of complete lockdown.
“We are in the so-called southern region of Hebron, which has been under curfew since dawn,” Nassar said. “There is a deep deployment of professional troops … with bulldozers and tracked armored vehicles.”
“We are witnessing tracked armored vehicles … the last time we saw them was during the second intifada during the (Israeli) Operation Defensive Shield in Hebron,” he said, noting the importance of heavy equipment.
‘dividing the divided’
Citing “anti-terrorist objectives” by the military, Nassar watched soldiers install new metal barriers and warned of tightening long-term controls.
“A while ago they put in iron gates and it’s a dangerous area,” Nassar said. “It seems that what is happening on the ground is a proposal to divide the already divided.”
Video footage verified by local sources showed Israeli forces sealing off the Tariq bin Ziyad roundabout with cement blocks and mounds of earth. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported at least seven arrests.
Mosque under pressure
Nassar pointed out that the raid was being conducted less than half a kilometer from Ibrahim MasjidFollowing recent Israeli moves to withdraw Palestinian rights to the site.
“This comes after the decision to ban the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque for 15 days,” Nassar explained, adding that management of the site was being transferred to the Israeli Civil Administration.
From the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza As of October 2023, more than 1,080 Palestinians have been killed West BankAccording to official Palestinian sources, some 11,000 were injured and some 20,500 arrested.