Palestinian families displaced as Israeli forces demolish Hebron homes, local officials say

Israeli forces demolished homes, businesses and infrastructure in Hebron’s Ein Deir Baha and Farsh al-Hawa neighbourhoods and sealed off the city, according to Palestinian officials. Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari said dozens of families spent the night outdoors, while the governor and deputy mayor reported that at least 200 families had been displaced. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the operation after an attack at a checkpoint killed two Israeli soldiers and injured three; the two Palestinian gunmen were also killed. Netanyahu said buildings connected to the attack and the gunmen’s neighbourhoods would be destroyed, a practice Israeli rights groups have criticised as collective punishment.