IDF demolishes buildings near Hebron in response to West Bank shooting attack

Israeli forces demolish a number of buildings near Hebron in response to a shooting attack nearby that killed two IDF soldiers earlier today.

IDF soldiers are seen in footage ordering Palestinians in the Farsh al-Hawa area near Hebron to evacuate their homes ahead of the demolition, in what the Palestinian Authority says amounts to collective punishment in the wake of the deadly shooting.

Armed soldiers are seen shoving Palestinian civilians to vacate the premises, after their belongings have been swiftly loaded onto trucks. Photos and video from the site show structures being bulldozed by Israeli forces.

فيديو | قوات الاحتلال تخلي منزلا بالقوة تمهيدا لهدمه في منطقة فرش الهوى بالخليل pic.twitter.com/MfCynmPimo

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) October 23, 2026

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today that Israel would demolish the entire neighborhood where the two shooters lived, expanding punitive measures against Palestinians from just the homes of the perpetrators.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich then posted a video from the site saying that he ordered “a series of demolitions of illegal structures” in order to “create deterrence and exact a price for the serious attack today.”

“We are already here with the equipment on the ground, sending an unequivocal message to our enemies: if you mess with us, we will exact a very, very painful price from you,” he added.

אנחנו מעבירים מסר חד-משמעי לאויבינו: אם תתעסקו עם היהודים, תשלמו מחירים כואבים מאוד.

כחלק מיצירת ההרתעה וגביית המחיר על ההיתקלות הקשה היום באזור חברון, הנחיתי להרוס שורה של מבנים בלתי חוקיים, שנהרסים ברגעים אלה ממש. pic.twitter.com/s2be7Ype6z

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) October 23, 2026