Report: IDF chief tells Netanyahu there’s no justification for keeping Palestinians from their homes, but PM orders Hebron op to continue

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Israeli security forces guard a closed checkpoint at the entrance to the West Bank city of Hebron, following a deadly shooting attack in the area the previous day, October 24, 2026. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly rebuffed a recommendation from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to end the army’s ongoing operation in the West Bank city of Hebron, even though the latter explained that the objectives have already been met.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that as early as Saturday night, the IDF wanted to announce that the operation was winding down after it completed a day of searches of homes in the area.

But Netanyahu has insisted that the operation continue, against the backdrop of Tuesday’s election.

Some 3,000 Palestinians in the Hebron area have been displaced from their homes as a result of the operation, which was launched after Palestinian gunmen opened fire on troops at a checkpoint in the city, killing two.

Netanyahu held a situational assessment with the military brass on Sunday at the Tel Nof air base, during which Zamir explained that there was no operational justification for the continuation of the IDF’s Hebron raid and no legal justification for continuing to prevent Palestinians from returning to their homes.

A military source tells Kan that the goals of the operation — establishing deterrence, locating terror infrastructure and gathering intelligence — have been met. Troops have scanned 500 structures in the city, but found only two guns to seize.

Kan interviewed multiple soldiers participating in the operation who indicated that it is no longer serving any strategic purpose.

“We’re just sitting at these locations doing nothing. We conducted searches, looked for weaponry and found what there was to find,” one soldier is quoted as having said.

“Right now, we’re just wasting time,” the soldier adds.

“You can always find another handgun or another Hamas flag, but that’s not the objective. There are soldiers here who haven’t been home for 28 days, simply because someone doesn’t want to admit that the operation has ended,” the soldier says.