Israel's “aggressive operation” in the West Bank city of Hebron raises serious concerns of ethnic cleansing, UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned on Monday, as the number of Palestinians forced from their homes passed 3,000 on the eve of Israeli elections, UN News reported.

Source: UN News

“The sweeping steps taken raise grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force – which must end,” Mr. Türk said in a statement. He said the operation had demolished homes and commercial property, and deprived residents of the ability to move freely, and that the Israeli lockdown is confining many people to their homes and immediate neighbourhoods.

Source: UN News

“Declarations by senior Israeli Government officials indicate that the measures implemented are punitive in nature and designed to instil fear. This is unacceptable,” he said. “Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law,” he warned. “Threats to empty and erase entire neighbourhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing.” He called for all those displaced to be allowed to return home, and for Israel to ensure compensation and reparation for unlawful evictions and demolitions.

Source: UN News

3,189People forced from their homes in Hebron, according to the Hebron municipality, as reported by France 24 via Pagegoo
3,000+People evacuated since Friday whom aid partners are supporting, according to the UN aid coordination office OCHA (UN News)
2,000+Settler attacks causing casualties or property damage recorded since the start of 2026 — more than in any previous year on record, according to OCHA (UN News)

The operation began after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli military checkpoint near Hebron on Friday, killing two soldiers and wounding three others, UN News said. Both gunmen were killed. Arab News, reporting the same Türk statement, noted Defence Minister Israel Katz had earlier confirmed about 2,000 people had been forcibly displaced — a lower figure than the municipality's 3,189 — and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered a full lockdown of the West Bank.

Source: UN News; Arab News via Europe Says

OCHA said the UN and its partners are responding to new displacement in both Gaza and the West Bank, and that settler attacks continued across the West Bank over the weekend, disrupting the olive harvest, UN News reported. The Türk warning is a UN assessment and a call for the operation to end; Israel has not, in the reports cited here, published a direct response to Türk's statement itself. Earlier Hebron coverage on this site reported Palestinian officials putting displacement at 3,043 with 71 arrests on the operation's fourth day — the municipality figure has since risen to 3,189.

Source: UN News

What is solid

  • Türk issued the warning on Monday, Oct 26, in a formal statement reported by UN News
  • The operation followed Friday's checkpoint attack in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and three wounded, and both gunmen were killed (UN News)
  • Displacement has passed 3,000: OCHA puts evacuated people at more than 3,000; the Hebron municipality puts those forced from homes at 3,189

What is only claimed

  • Whether the operation amounts to ethnic cleansing or collective punishment is the UN rights chief's assessment; Israeli officials have framed the operation as a security response, and Defence Minister Katz's earlier displacement figure was about 2,000, lower than the municipality's 3,189