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Scene in Hebron. Published by IMEMC News

Hammouda Wa’el Mohammad al-Jo’ba, 27, and Ahmad Bassam Mohammad al-Jo’ba. Published by IMEMC News

Israeli Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem. Published by IMEMC News

One of two armed Palestinian men during a fire exchange with Israeli forces at the northern checkpoint of Hebron in the West Bank on Friday. Credit: Hazem Bader/AFP. Published by Haaretz

Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit.Published by Haaretz

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by IMEMC News
Oct 24, 2026

Two Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in a shooting and subsequent exchange of fire at an Israeli military roadblock near Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, on Friday morning, October 23, 2026. Three other soldiers were wounded, according to the Israeli military. Israeli forces subsequently launched a military offensive in Hebron and restricted movement across the governorate.

Shireen Observatory’s records list Hammouda Wa’el Mohammad al-Jo’ba, 27, and Ahmad Bassam Mohammad al-Jo’ba, 23, both from Hebron, as the two Palestinians killed.

At the time of this update, the Israeli army continued to hold the bodies of the two Palestinians and had not returned them to their families.

The Israeli army identified the two soldiers killed as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, both members of the Home Front Command’s 775th Ari Battalion. The army’s announcement followed an initial casualty count of five Israelis wounded, including two critically.

According to the military’s preliminary account, the two Palestinians arrived by car at approximately 7:30 a.m., exited on a nearby side street, and opened fire toward the roadblock. The military said soldiers returned fire and killed both men during an exchange lasting more than twenty minutes.

In its preliminary account, the military said the men carried a rifle and a handgun and that ammunition found in their vehicle suggested plans for a larger attack on Route 35. That assessment was not independently verified.

Following the shooting, Israeli forces closed entrances and exits to Hebron governorate, shutting military roadblocks and iron gates and preventing Palestinian movement, according to WAFA’s report cited in the original IMEMC article.

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir approved preparations for a cordon around Hebron and nearby villages, further arrests, intensified intelligence operations, and additional military reinforcements.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that he had instructed security officials to prepare for a full lockdown of the occupied West Bank following a security assessment.

Netanyahu said the meeting included military chief Eyal Zamir, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Shin Bet director David Zini, National Security Adviser Shmuel Ben Ezra, and Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth.

Netanyahu said Israeli forces were intensifying operations and conducting widespread arrests, which he described as measures to prevent attacks. He also said Israel would pursue Hamas members and those directing them wherever they operated.

Al Jazeera Arabic reported that Netanyahu, speaking from Hebron, said Israeli forces were surrounding Hebron and Halhoul and considering extending the operation to other areas.

The Times of Israel reported that, following the shooting, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for the Palestinian Authority to be dismantled and demilitarized. He also called for the removal of what he described as its “terror infrastructure.”

The Times of Israel report contained no indication of Palestinian Authority involvement in the shooting. Based in Ramallah, the authority administers the main Palestinian cities in the West Bank, including most of Hebron. Ben Gvir leads the extreme right-wing Otzma Yehudit party.

On the ground in Hebron, Israeli military spokesperson Ella Waweya announced an operation that she said aimed to prevent attacks and locate weapons and infrastructure she described as “terrorist.”

Waweya said the operation was expected to last several days and was focused on a defined area that included the location from which, according to her account, the two men involved in the shooting had departed. She said troops were searching the area and questioning dozens of suspects.

According to Waweya’s statement, residents in areas where troops were operating would have to undergo searches and security questioning before leaving through three designated crossing points.

Al Jazeera Arabic reported that Israeli troops used loudspeakers to order residents of the Ein Deir Bahha area of Hebron to leave their homes. The outlet published footage accompanying its report.

Waweya described the operation as a continuation of measures begun on Friday morning. She said the military had mapped the homes of the men involved in the shooting, imposed a security cordon in Hebron and Halhoul, established military roadblocks, and conducted operations in surrounding villages.

Waweya’s statement also referred to the demolition of buildings as part of spatial planning measures. The military described the buildings as “illegal” and said they could pose a security risk in the area of the exchange of fire.

In Dura town, south of Hebron, Israeli soldiers also fired live rounds at a car driven by a Palestinian woman, damaging the vehicle.

While journalists were covering a military invasion in Hebron city, Israeli forces assaulted them and fired gas bombs at them.

Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera Arabic reported that Israeli occupation forces invaded Arraba, southwest of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, and detained several Palestinians. It did not specify their names or the number detained.

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli military roadblocks hindered ambulances from reaching hospitals.

In separate coverage of the olive harvest, Al Jazeera published a report on October 23 about an earlier attack on Palestinian farmer Mousa al-Shurfa and his son as they harvested olives on their land in Beita, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Al-Shurfa told Al Jazeera that colonizers beat him and his son and that a head wound required approximately 50 stitches. The report did not specify the date of the attack.

The same report cited The Wall & Colonization Resistance Commission as documenting 409 attacks affecting olive farmers, trees, land, and agricultural equipment between October 1 and 21, 2026: 317 attributed to colonizers and 92 to Israeli forces. The commission said the incidents included preventing access to fields, assaulting farmers, stealing olives, and damaging trees and equipment.
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Two IDF Soldiers Killed in West Bank Shooting Attack

The soldiers were identified as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon. Three other Israelis were wounded in the attack near Hebron

by Yaniv Kubovich for Haaretz
Oct 23, 2026

Two Israeli soldiers who were critically wounded in a shooting attack in the West Bank earlier Friday have died of their wounds.

The soldiers were identified as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon.

Three other Israelis were wounded in the attack near Hebron. The IDF said it killed the two Palestinians assailants, following a brief manhunt.

Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam paid tribute to Ron, a resident of the city. "Ron leaves behind heartbroken parents, brothers and sisters," Glam wrote.

Ron's teacher, Daniel, said that Ron had been just weeks away from completing his military service. "People always say that God takes the best ones. That was Ron," Daniel wrote. "A wonderful kid, always smiling, always helping, always polite, always volunteering, always bringing joy and always a loyal friend to his peers."

"With broken hearts, we received the devastating news of the death in battle of a son of our city," wrote Hod Hasharon Mayor Amir Kochavi. "Yuval was the son of Sivan and Amnon, a loving brother to Shira and Itamar, a grandson, cousin and beloved friend. He was born and raised in Hod Hasharon."

The assailants were identified as Firas and Hamouda al-Jaaba, residents of Hebron. According to the Israeli military, the two were armed with an M4 rifle and a handgun.

According to an Israeli security source, the assailants arrived at the junction where the incident occurred in a car with Israeli license plates and opened fire in an exchange that lasted a prolonged period. IDF sources believe the two assailants planned to drive further into Israeli territory from the West Bank, but were stopped at an Israeli checkpoint.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said during a situational assessment that a large quantity of ammunition was found in the vehicle used by the assailants, which he said was intended for a larger-scale attack.

"The troops' swift action prevented an even more serious attack and further casualties among civilians and security forces," he said.