Israeli settlers attack olive harvesters, build new outpost as Hebron siege enters eighth day

Israeli forces and settlers carried out attacks across the occupied West Bank on Friday, including raids in Hebron, assaults on Palestinian olive harvesters and the start of a new settlement outpost, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. In Hebron, where an Israeli military operation entered its eighth day, troops kept the al-Jalda and Deir Bahha neighbourhoods sealed off and fired tear gas and stun grenades at displaced Palestinian residents trying to return home. Also in Hebron, Israeli forces demolished houses they said belonged to two Palestinian gunmen who attacked an Israeli checkpoint near the occupied West Bank city on 23 October, killing two Israeli soldiers. More than 115 Palestinians have been detained since the operation in Hebron began, and more than 780 families have been affected, 537 of them fully displaced, Wafa reported. Around 5,000 people are either besieged in their homes or have been forced out, and in-person classes have been disrupted at 66 schools, affecting 2,872 students, according to the agency. Settlers attacked a Palestinian family harvesting olives in the village of Tel Rumeida near Hebron, injuring five. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers attacked olive pickers in Beita, south of Nablus, and damaged olive trees in Burqa, east of Ramallah. They also began building a new outpost on Palestinian land between Ni'lin and Qibya, west of Ramallah, and vandalised property in Jaba, south of Jenin, and al-Masudiya, northwest of Nablus. Israeli army also shut the main eastern entrance to Qalqilya on Friday evening, Wafa said. Smoke rises as the Israeli military demolishes two Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, 30 October 2026 (HAZEM BADER / AFP)