Israeli occupation forces deployed soldiers by helicopter at dawn Wednesday during a large-scale invasion of Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
A large number of soldiers then invaded the Fattouh area as the airborne deployment continued. The military operation remained underway at the time of reporting.
Local sources added that the Israeli army informed several families that the invasion was part of military training exercises in the area.
Israeli forces have repeatedly conducted military drills in Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank, particularly in areas designated by Israel for military training.
Israeli forces rappelled from a helicopter onto the roof of a residential building in Yatta, south Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/noalMKknfi
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 16, 2026
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that Israel has designated nearly 18 percent of the West Bank as closed military zones for training. These areas are commonly known as firing zones.
OCHA has also documented the temporary displacement of Palestinian families during exercises in some of these areas.
In nearby Masafer Yatta, Israel designated much of the land as Firing Zone 918 in the 1980s. OCHA has documented military training, movement restrictions, property confiscations, and demolitions there, disrupting residents’ access to farmland, markets, schools, and essential services.
In a related development, Israeli colonizers brought construction equipment to an illegal outpost established on privately owned Palestinian land in Khallet al-Hummus, south of Yatta, apparently in preparation for additional construction and expansion. The colonizers also broke into the home of resident Khairy Abu Tuhfa in the area.
Several Palestinian homes in the southern part of Wadi ar-Rakhim, south of Yatta, lost electricity around midnight after colonizers severed and burned the area’s main power cable.
