The Israeli army continued its military siege and raids on Hebron, a city in the southern occupied West Bank, for a seventh consecutive day. Israeli forces seized Palestinian homes in the Deir Bahha and Al-Jilda neighborhoods, converting them into military positions. In the Old City, iron gates were installed to block passage, while Palestinians at military checkpoints reported being stopped, searched, and subjected to mistreatment.
The impact on education has been severe. According to a statement by the Hebron Education Directorate, part of the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, published by the official WAFA news agency, 66 schools were directly affected by restrictions imposed during the fourth week of October. In-person learning was suspended across numerous schools, forcing thousands of students to switch to distance learning. Over the course of one week, a total of 80,000 students were unable to attend school in person.
Some 2,872 students directly affected by the Israeli operations could not reach their classrooms — 2,198 of them were located in areas under direct siege, while 674 had been forcibly displaced from their homes. Additionally, 119 teachers and administrative staff were adversely affected; 98 remained trapped in besieged areas and 21 were displaced. The closure of city entrances combined with intensified raids in Deir Bahha and Al-Jilda has meant that schooling has been conducted exclusively online since October 25.
The military operation was triggered by an armed attack on an Israeli checkpoint in the Farsh al-Hawa area at the northwestern entrance to Hebron on October 23. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three wounded in the attack; the two Palestinian assailants were shot dead by Israeli forces.
Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz stated two days into the siege that approximately 2,000 displaced Palestinians would not be allowed to return to their homes until Israel had dismantled what it described as Hamas's "infrastructure" in the city. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also threatened the largest military offensive in the occupied West Bank since the 1967 war.
According to a statement by Hebron Municipality on the evening of October 27, the number of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing military operations had reached 4,969 people, comprising 780 families.
