Two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian attackers were killed after gunmen opened fire near a military checkpoint outside the city. At least five soldiers were injured.
Israeli authorities subsequently sealed entrances and exits to Hebron and announced house-to-house searches and planned home demolitions.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres raised concern about the closures, reports of possible displacement and the impact of military operations on Palestinian civilians. “Those closures severely restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement, access to basic services and livelihoods,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.
Guterres called on all parties to end violence, exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further intensify tensions.
The UN also condemned record numbers of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians during 2026.
Guterres reminded Israel of the obligation as the occupying power to protect Palestinians from settler violence and hold perpetrators accountable.
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Mayy El Sheikh described the Hebron lockdown as “yet another episode in a never-ending stream of suffocating measures making life more and more unbearable for Palestinians”.
El Sheikh said closures, intensified raids and detentions following attacks by Palestinians reflected a “pattern of collective punishment”.
The Ibrahimi Mosque was also closed, preventing worshippers from attending Friday prayers.
The restrictions come during the olive harvest, when many Palestinian families depend on access to farmland for income. “Israeli movement restrictions are already preventing thousands of Palestinian farmers from reaching their olives for the harvest,” El Sheikh said.
“This is bound to have devastating effects on the season.”
The UN Human Rights Office documented more than 160 settler attacks during the first two weeks of October, involving live ammunition, arson, crop theft and damage to olive groves.
European Union diplomats and a Washington Post photojournalist were also reportedly targeted during separate incidents connected to the harvest.
Guterres also expressed concern about continuing civilian deaths and severe humanitarian restrictions in Gaza as winter approached.
The UN called for civilians to be protected and for immediate restraint across the occupied Palestinian territories.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
