Nearly 5,000 Palestinians were displaced or injured as the Israeli siege of Hebron (al-Khalil) entered its fifth day.

Nearly 5,000 Palestinians were displaced or injured as the Israeli siege of Hebron (al-Khalil) entered its fifth day.

Nearly 5,000 Palestinians have been forcibly expelled or affected by Israel's ongoing military offensive on Hebron in the occupied West Bank, Mayor Yusef al-Jabari told Anadolu on Tuesday. The attack entered the fifth day in a row, with Israeli forces imposing an extensive siege on the city, including several residential neighborhoods and the Ibrahimi Mosque. Jabari described the operation as collective punishment, and reported extensive damage to Palestinian homes, private property and urban infrastructure, including water and sewer networks, roads and sidewalks. He said many factories were closed because goods could not enter or leave the city, while workers were prevented from reaching their workplaces. Israeli forces also entered and vandalized homes under the pretext of searching for weapons, with the mayor citing Israeli media reports that no weapons were found. According to municipal estimates, the number of displaced and affected Palestinians approaches 5,000, including residents who were forced to leave their homes and those who live in nearby neighborhoods whose daily lives have been disrupted by the expanding military operation. Women, children and elderly residents are among the victims. In a separate statement, the Hebron Municipality reported that 4,969 Palestinians were forcibly deported from the Deir Bahaha and Al-Jalda areas. Israeli Israeli forces continue to raid neighborhoods, deploy reinforcements and evict residents from their homes. On Saturday, Israeli War Minister Israel Katz said that the residents will not be allowed to return until the "Hamas infrastructure" is dismantled. Local sources told Anadolu that there is no such infrastructure in the city.