AL-KHALIL, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued their military assault and tight siege on al-Khalil in the southern West Bank for the ninth consecutive day on Saturday, deploying major military reinforcements, raiding Palestinian homes, carrying out arrests and subjecting residents to mistreatment as hundreds of families remain forcibly displaced.
The IOF sent large military reinforcements through several entrances toward the Deir Baha neighborhood in western al-Khalil.
The IOF also raided homes whose residents had been forcibly displaced, ransacking and destroying their belongings.
The escalation came one day after Israeli military engineering and explosives units planted explosives inside the homes of Ahmed and Hamoudeh al-Ja’bari in Deir Baha and demolished both buildings simultaneously by remote control.
The two Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers at the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint north of al-Khalil on October 23.
An Israeli military spokesperson boasted that the demolitions had been carried out within a week of the shooting attack, in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and others were injured.
IOF suppresses displaced families and turns residential building into military base
Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades at residents of the al-Jelda and Deir Baha neighborhoods, causing several people to suffer breathing difficulties.
The crackdown followed a peaceful protest near al-Jelda roundabout after Friday prayer, where displaced families, including women, children and elderly residents, demanded the right to return to their homes.
IOF troops also converted a residential building into a military barracks and stationed snipers on its roof.
IOF blocked the entrance to Wadi Abu Kteila with rocks and used loudspeakers to threaten to shoot or arrest anyone approaching the sealed neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Civil Defense crews warned residents about the dangers posed by explosives and military remnants in areas raided by Israeli forces, as military operations continued inside residential neighborhoods.
More than 115 Palestinians arrested since assault began
The number of Palestinians arrested in al-Khalil since the beginning of the Israeli assault has risen to more than 115, including a young woman.
Israeli forces continued conducting raids and arrests across several neighborhoods, detaining Omar Shawer from the Dakhlet Wadi al-Karm area and another young man in the al-Jelda and Deir Baha area.
Hundreds of other Palestinians have been temporarily detained, including seven who were handcuffed and subjected to mistreatment by Israeli soldiers.
Alongside the military assault, Jewish settlers attacked five members of the Ragheb Abu Aisha family while they were harvesting olives in the militarily restricted Tel Rumeida area.
The settlers beat the family members and sprayed them with pepper spray.
Four suffered bruises and fainting episodes, while a fifth sustained a broken hand and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
More than 780 families affected, 537 forcibly displaced
Approximately 5,000 Palestinians are enduring severe conditions under the Israeli siege and forced displacement.
The number of affected families has exceeded 780, including 537 families forcibly displaced entirely from their homes.
Al-Khalil’s Support and Relief Committee confirmed records for the 537 displaced families, comprising 3,361 people, including 232 infants, 1,193 children, 326 elderly people, 147 pregnant or breastfeeding women, 32 people with disabilities, and 213 people with chronic illnesses.
The figures illustrate the worsening humanitarian consequences of the assault, as hundreds of families have lost access to their homes and face difficult displacement conditions under continuing military restrictions.
Schools disrupted as daily economic losses reach 12 million shekels
The consequences of the siege extend beyond displacement and arrests, severely disrupting education and economic activity across al-Khalil.
Last week, the Israeli military assault disrupted education for approximately 262,000 students across 589 schools throughout al-Khalil governorate.
In-person classes remain suspended at 66 schools, preventing 2,872 students from attending.
Of those, 2,198 students are living under direct military siege, while another 674 have been forcibly displaced and cannot reach their classrooms.
The economic impact has also been severe.
According to the Al-Khalil Chamber of Commerce, direct losses resulting from the closures are estimated at 10 million to 12 million shekels per day, including approximately one million shekels daily in the dairy and milk sector alone.
As the Israeli assault enters its ninth day, the military siege, forced displacement, arrests and disruption of education and commerce continue to affect thousands of Palestinians, while hundreds of families remain unable to return to their homes.
