Two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers before being shot in the West Bank, prompting Benjamin Netanyahu to threaten a major offensive in retaliation. 

The attack near Hebron in the southern West Bank wounded three other soldiers, the Israeli military said. 

It took place amid escalating attacks by Israeli settlers and a broader rise in violence in the territory since the 2023 Hamas-led attacks that plunged the region into war.

Mr Netanyahu, whose right-wing coalition may lose its majority after Tuesday’s election, visited the site of the attack and said the military would force Palestinians out of a Hebron neighbourhood from which he said the attackers had emerged.

He likened the tactic to Israel’s devastating military assaults on two Palestinian refugee camps in 2025, operations that displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. 

Human Rights Watch said those expulsions amounted to war crimes, something Israel rejects.

The Israeli prime minister said: ‘That is exactly what we will do here. “We will evacuate the residents, we will go house-to-house, we will also confiscate the weapons there, and all terrorist infrastructures will be dealt with and destroyed.”

After Mr Netanyahu’s comments, a Reuters reporter saw Israeli bulldozers begin to demolish homes in Hebron near the site of the shooting. 

One of two armed Palestinian men loads his firearm during a gun battle with the IDF at the northern checkpoint of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on October 23, 2026

Residents said the homes facing demolition had no connection to the attackers. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr Netanyahu ordered a lockdown in the West Bank, blaming the shooting on Hamas and said troops prevented what could have been a major attack.

Two Palestinian militants armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle were seen exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint near the city of Hebron around 7.30am local time.

At the time, Israeli soldiers were conducting routine inspections of Palestinian vehicles leaving the city. 

Israeli forces eventually shot dead the two men, with an AFP journalist reporting that they saw their bodies on the ground next to a petrol station. 

The two Palestinian gunmen have been identified as Mohammad Jaaba and Firas Jaaba, both 27-year-old residents of Hebron, according to the Times of Israel.

The pair were allegedly carrying a large quantity of ammunition in their vehicle.

The Israeli military said soldiers had rushed to the Judea Junction area after the early morning attack and ‘eliminated two terrorists’.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical rescue service said five people were wounded in the attack, two of whom were in critical condition.

The service said all five were Israelis in their 20s, including one man in ‘very serious condition’ with gunshot wounds.

It comes comes during a period of heightened security concerns in Israel as the country heads to the polls on Tuesday, the first election since the October 7 massacre.

Opinion polls show that both Mr Netanyahu and his main competitor, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot are falling short of a majority in parliament.

Mr Netanyahu’s government has presided over a rapid expansion of settlements, deemed illegal by UN bodies and most countries, though Israel disputes this.

Militant settlers have stepped up their attacks on Palestinians in recent weeks during the territory’s annual olive harvest, killing at least three Palestinians and wounded dozens of others, including journalists, European diplomats and a French mayor.

Palestinian gunmen have also carried out attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians in recent months. 

In September, a gunman shot dead an Israeli man at a spring near a West Bank settlement. The suspected gunman was later arrested.

With the clock counting down to election day, Mr Netanyahu called for all Likud party political meetings to be cancelled Friday due to the attack.

He said: ‘I salute the courage of our soldiers who acted with determination and prevented what could have been a major attack.

‘I have instructed the IDF and security forces to impose an immediate cordon on the city of Hebron and to prepare for a full lockdown of all of Judea and Samaria starting today.’ 

Using the biblical name for the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Israeli PM added that troops were ‘carrying out stepped-up operations to thwart terrorist activities and are conducting large-scale waves of arrests’.

The military said it had ‘launched offensive counter-terrorism operations in the Hebron area’, adding that troops were raiding homes of the suspects and others.

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has been rising in the polls, called for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority to be dismantled because of the attack.

‘The Palestinian Authority must be dismantled and demilitarised, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely,’ he said.

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich today called for a military campaign in the West Bank ‘exactly like in Gaza’ following the attack.

Mr Smotrich, who also holds a position within the defence ministry, said: ‘There is no other option but a comprehensive military campaign in Judea and Samaria to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, collect weapons and eliminate terrorists. 

‘Exactly like in Gaza and Lebanon. In the next government this will be one of the first measures that we must demand and apply.’

No evidence suggests that the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was connected to Friday’s attack.

Hamas, which is based in Gaza and carried out the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history, hailed what it called an ‘exceptional heroic operation’ near Hebron and mourned the two dead assailants, without claiming responsibility.

The attack is a ‘natural and legitimate response to the ongoing crimes and brutal attacks against our people’, Hamas, the rival of the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah faction, said in a statement.

In a statement, Mr Netanyahu vowed to ‘pursue Hamas terrorists’ everywhere, adding: ‘You have no place to hide.’

Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is the prime minister’s top rival in the election, praised the response by troops.

‘Like all Israelis, I pray for the complete and quick recovery of the injured,’ he said.

According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed 1,113 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Israeli figures show at least 49 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same period.

Security officials in Israel said the gunmen had initially planned to carry out a larger attack targeting civilians and were found with a large quantity of explosives and arms in their vehicles but were apprehended at a checkpoint where they opened fire. 

The attackers reportedly belonged to the same family, although their exact relationship remains unclear. 

In a statement following the shooting, Mr Netanyahu said: ‘It appears that Hamas terrorists were planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians, as evidenced by the large quantities of weapons and ammunition discovered.

‘Our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination. I commend them for their actions and wish our wounded a speedy recovery.’

He continued: ‘Our forces are operating with reinforcements to thwart terrorism and are carrying out extensive waves of arrests.

‘We will pursue Hamas terrorists and those who sent them, wherever they are and at all times. You have nowhere to hide.’

The shooting comes just a day after Israeli media outlets reported that Hamas had issued an unusually explicit warning to Israel, threatening another attack comparable to the October 7 massacre three years ago.

Senior Hamas officials apparently conveyed the threat through United Nations humanitarian coordinator Dr Ramiz Alakbarov, warning that it was prepared to strike inside Israel, across Judea and Samaria, and against Israeli interests overseas.

Hamas officials reportedly cited continued Israeli military operations in Gaza, changes to the military’s deployment lines and the Palestinian Authority’s decision to cancel elections as reasons for their warning.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.