Women living in Hebron have told ActionAid of their fear as the Israeli military continues its almost week-long large-scale incursion into the city, forcing people from their homes and preventing them from moving around.
ActionAid strongly condemns the military assault which has forcibly displaced almost 4,000 Palestinians since it was launched on Friday, after a Palestinian man killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. In the days since, soldiers have raided people’s homes, detained dozens of people, and ordered homes to be demolished. The entire city of Hebron is under blockade and entrances and exits to neighbourhoods have been closed, severely restricting people’s ability to move around and cutting them off from schools, workplaces, hospitals and places of worship.
Hiba*, a kindergarten teacher in Hebron told ActionAid: "The situation is extremely dangerous and frightening. There are constant searches, restrictions and closures. The checkpoint had been closed since the military operation began, and only reopened yesterday.
"Today, at around 3 p.m, my colleague and I were holding a Quran class at the kindergarten when Israeli soldiers stormed the area, and we locked ourselves inside the kindergarten until things calmed down. People were beaten, including an elderly couple, who were attacked inside their own home. The soldiers even chased the girls at the kindergarten, where we were hiding. They began banging on the door.
"A day after the operation began, we were on our way to a meeting at a school. Around 15 of us women were stopped and harassed by Israeli soldiers. We were subjected to humiliating searches and ordered to remove our jackets......The soldiers kept shouting at us...After four hours of detention, they finally let us go. We never made it to the meeting at the school. We had no choice but to turn around and return to our homes.
"Today, Israeli soldiers also attacked the Al-Salaymeh neighbourhood. They detained several young men, beat them, and later released them."
The assault on Hebron comes as Palestinians in the West Bank were already experiencing record levels of violence from Israeli soldiers and settlers. Since the start of the olive harvest season, there have been 272 olive harvest related settler attacks – more than the total recorded during the entire 2024 or 2025 seasons, according to UNOCHA.
Now the Israeli army is enacting the same strategy of mass forced displacement – which could amount to ethnic cleansing – it pursued in refugee camps in the north of the West Bank early last year, when more than 33,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes. They remain displaced with no idea of when they will be able to return.
Bashaer Shawar, a senior project officer with ActionAid in Hebron, said: "It's very painful to see how Palestinian families who were displaced from their houses in Hebron have growing fear, hardship and uncertainty. They were forced to leave their homes at extremely short notice, often with less than one hour to gather their belongings, leaving behind their livelihoods and the security of places they have called home. These acts amount to collective punishment.
"The destruction of homes and businesses combined with movement restrictions, is further weakening Hebron's economy and pushing already poor families deeper into poverty. Forced displacement, family separation, and restricted access to life-saving services are making an already desperate situation worse by limiting access to healthcare, protection services, livelihood, and humanitarian access.
"We are particularly concerned about the impact on women and children as displacement, family separation, economic hardships, and the loss of safe living conditions increase their exposure to violence and psychological distress. Families need more than emergency supplies. They need safety, dignity, protection, and the reassurance that their rights will be respected."
ActionAid is demanding an immediate end to the violence, for all movement restrictions to be lifted and for all Palestinians to be able to return to their homes. The Israeli government’s brutal and decades-long illegal occupation of the West Bank must be brought to an end, as mandated by the International Court of Justice.
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*Names have been changed
Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications coordinator at ActionAid Palestine, is available for interview. Please contact the press office to arrange at uk.media@actionaid.org or on 07753 973 486
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