Israeli Occupation Forces Displace 336 Babies from Hebron
WEST BANK – Israeli occupation forces continued their aggression against the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Friday, for the eighth consecutive day, as the number of displaced people continued to rise.
WAFA, citing eyewitnesses, reported that the forces sent additional military reinforcements, accompanied by engineering units, to the Deir Bahha area, which has been closed off and besieged by occupation forces since last Friday.
They added that the forces raided the home of a Palestinian resident accused of carrying out a shooting attack in the Farsh al-Hawa area last week. The forces began excavating and demolishing parts of the house, and forced more families to leave their homes in the area.
Meanwhile, occupation forces raided several neighbourhoods in Hebron and the village of al-Rihiya to the south, detaining three Palestinians, including a former prisoner, and beating them severely.
For eight consecutive days, the forces have kept all entrances to and exits from Hebron tightly closed, as well as sealing off the al-Jilda and Deir Bahha areas. They have also continued daily house-to-house raids and thorough searches, causing damage.
Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s siege has not only paralysed residents’ movement but has also caused serious humanitarian and economic consequences in one of the largest cities in the West Bank.
Data from the Hebron Municipality analysed by Al Jazeera showed that 780 families had been forced to leave their homes. This is equivalent to about two per cent of Hebron’s total population of 250,000.
Vulnerable groups make up a significant proportion of those displaced. They include 441 older people, 336 babies under the age of two and 312 people with chronic illnesses. More than 200 pregnant and breastfeeding women and 44 people with disabilities have also been affected.
Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari said thousands of residents had been forced to leave their homes. The situation was made more distressing by families having to flee in the middle of the night.
“Thousands of residents were forced out of their homes, and the world watched children crying after midnight,” al-Jabari told Al Jazeera.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, he described Hebron as facing a large-scale siege and collective punishment.
The number of displaced people rose sharply in a short period. On 24 October, al-Jabari put the number of displaced residents at around 2,200. That figure more than doubled over the following days.
The Hebron Chamber of Commerce estimates that the direct losses caused by the closures in the city range from 10 million to 12 million shekels a day, including around one million shekels in the dairy sector alone.
The attacks also disrupted education for around 262,000 pupils at 589 schools across the area last week, while thousands of pupils in besieged areas and places affected by displacement have still been unable to reach their schools.
Meanwhile, the Support and Relief Committee announced that it had verified data on 537 affected families, comprising 3,361 people. They include 232 babies, 1,193 children aged between two and 17, 326 older people, 147 pregnant and breastfeeding women, 32 people with disabilities and 213 people with chronic illnesses.