More Than 2,000 Forced From Homes in Hebron as Israeli Raids Sweep the West Bank

More than 2,000 Palestinians have been forced from their homes in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank amid Israeli military raids, local officials say. The city has been closed off and residents are living in fear.

The raids follow the deaths of two Israeli soldiers, as Israel's military operates across the West Bank. Against this backdrop, the Palestinian Authority on Saturday called for international pressure on Israel to protect Hebron's residents.

Hebron's mayor, Yousef al-Ja'bari, told Al Jazeera that 2,200 people had been forced from their homes as hundreds of Israeli raids took place since Friday's attack by two Palestinian gunmen on an Israeli army reserve base. The two Palestinians were killed, as well as the two Israeli soldiers.

After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a 'full lockdown' of the West Bank. Mayor al-Ja'bari said on Saturday that Hebron residents can neither enter nor leave the city.

Residents said soldiers announced evacuation orders over loudspeakers late at night, leaving them with no time to prepare and few places to move to. The sudden displacement has thrown families into deep uncertainty.

Israeli soldiers also fired a stun grenade at Al Jazeera journalists near the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint in Hebron, as they documented an Israeli operation to bulldoze homes and vehicles in the area.

Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground reported that Israeli forces carried out raids across at least 15 areas of the occupied West Bank on Saturday. Those targeted include Jenin and Nablus in the north; Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Birzeit and occupied East Jerusalem in the centre; and Bethlehem in the south.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Society said Israeli forces arrested about 70 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank. Simultaneous raids and arrests across so many areas in a single day underline the scale of the operation.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, called Israel's actions 'collective punishment', citing the demolition of homes, forced displacement of entire neighbourhoods, and the 'closure and siege of Palestinian cities', and urged the international community to intervene, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Meanwhile, Hamas said in a statement that the 'campaigns and escalations carried out by the occupation and its criminal settlers against our people will only fuel further outrage'.

Around 200,000 Palestinians live in the city of Hebron itself, and a further 600,000 in Hebron governorate, making it the West Bank's most populous governorate. A siege of the area therefore affects the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

With the lockdown, displacement and raids continuing, concern is growing over the humanitarian situation of Hebron's residents. Attention will now turn to whether the Palestinian Authority's call for international intervention draws a response, and how long the lockdown lasts.