In Hebron, the return of families to several neighbourhoods began on 2 November after the end of the Israeli military operation on 23 October. People find damaged housing and streets full of rubble. The withdrawal allows to return, but opens a phase of rehabilitation and damage assessment after the displacement of several thousand people. The recovery of services remains uneven.
Hebron: Returning to damaged housing
Tamara Obeid discovered broken furniture and the affairs of her children scattered on the ground. In her testimony at Reuters, she describes a violent entry of soldiers into her home and her husband’s handcuffing.
An Israeli military official, anonymously speaking to Reuters, confirmed the withdrawal on 2 November. He claims that the soldiers searched several sites, interrogated suspects and seized four weapons and military equipment. The operation followed an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. The two Palestinian assailants were also killed.
Essential services were disorganized
The restrictions have affected residents far beyond the homes evacuated. 691 schools in the governorate, with more than 251,000 pupils, were introduced to distance education on 25 and 26 October. Eleven schools, attended by approximately 4,700 students, are located in or near directly affected neighbourhoods.
Access to care has also been reduced. By 27 October, a health partner could no longer reach 15 of its 29 locations. Another had suspended his mobile clinics in four locations. These findings describe the period of the operation, without establishing that all activities had resumed after the withdrawal.
On 2 November, however, Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari told Arab News that students had returned to their classrooms and that academic and industrial activities were resumed. He stated that traffic restrictions remained at the entrances to the city.
UNICEF highlights the vulnerability of displaced families, including infants, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases. The municipality and the governorate have set up a household registration portal to organize assistance. A large part of the families had sought refuge with relatives.
An appeal for the inhabitants
On 29 October, Adalah appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court on behalf of the municipality of Hebron and seven inhabitants of Ein Deir Baha and Al-Jaldeh. It called for the cessation of evacuations, demolitions and traffic restrictions, as well as a safe passage for relief and municipal services.
The complainants denounce collective punishment and challenge the military justification for the movement. That qualification is that of their appeal. According to the Jerusalem Post, the State informed the Court on 2 November that the ban on return was no longer justified and requested the rejection of the appeal, which it considered to be irrelevant. This record does not make it possible to state that the return was ordered by the Court.
For families, access to their neighbourhood now opens another stage: restoring housing, assessing damage and continuing the resumption of services. The available sources do not provide a consolidated count of dwellings that are still uninhabitable after the return of families.
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