Counter-Terror Operation Near Hebron Leads to Six Arrests, Including Hamas Operatives

Israeli security forces arrested six wanted individuals, including Hamas operatives, in villages near Hebron overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. The operation, aimed at thwarting terrorism in the Hebron area, was launched following a deadly encounter last Friday at the Yehuda Junction, where Sergeant Major Ron Yonatan Reitman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Suilam were killed, and three other soldiers were lightly wounded. During the Hebron operation, IDF soldiers also located weapons, including an M16 rifle, knives, a vest, and a replica pistol.

Concurrently, over the past 72 hours, the IDF and Border Police conducted a focused counter-terrorism operation in the Nablus region, targeting eight villages and the city of Nablus itself. Forces from the Samaria Brigade and the Yahalom unit demolished two houses in the village of Beita on Wednesday morning. These homes belonged to Zacharia Muhammad Abd Daoud and Ibrahim Abd Al-Karim Abd Daoud, who are accused of carrying out three explosive device attacks in 2024 and 2025, two of which resulted in injuries to security personnel.

Further arrests were made in the Nablus area. In the village of Yassid, Duvdevan unit soldiers, guided by the Shin Bet, apprehended a wanted individual involved in trading explosives and weapons and facilitating their transfer to a terror cell. Also in Yassid, a YAMAS (Border Police special unit) operative arrested a wanted suspect engaged in manufacturing explosives and weapons, arms trafficking, and planning attacks.

In a broader sweep across the region, IDF soldiers searched approximately 300 locations, arrested eight additional wanted individuals, and confiscated weapons, including hunting rifles, a pistol, and ammunition. The security forces also destroyed 12 memorial sites described as belonging to terrorists "associated with attacks and inciting terrorism."