AL-KHALIL, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) entered the sixth day of their military operation in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil on Wednesday.
The IOF operation comes amid widespread closures of residential areas, home raids, arbitrary arrests, assaults, displacement of hundreds of families, and severe movement restrictions in and around the city.
According to the al-Khalil municipality, the IOF has displaced 4,969 Palestinians, comprising 780 families, from their homes in the Jalda and Deir Baha areas since the operation began.
Al-Khalil mayor Yousef al-Jaabari said on Tuesday that the IOF carried out widespread destruction to homes, roads, and water and sewage networks, and closed factories during its ongoing campaign in the city.
Al-Jaabari added that Israeli forces vandalized homes after forcibly displacing their residents under the pretext of searching for weapons, stressing that the full extent of the destruction would remain unclear until the IOF withdraws from the affected areas.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have kidnaped over 90 Palestinians and detained more than 250 others for interrogation in the city.
The IOF has also imposed strict restrictions on access to al-Khalil City, its towns and refugee camps, blocking residents from using a number of roads and preventing them from carrying out daily tasks and securing basic needs.
According to local sources, Israeli forces assaulted three Palestinians, including two elderly men, in the al-Fahs area of al-Khalil. They also fired tear gas towards Al-Ahli Hospital, causing fumes to seep into patients’ wards.
