Israeli occupation forces detonated the home of Palestinian detainee Thabit Masalma early Tuesday morning in the town of Beit Awwa, southwest of Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank. The military invasion triggered widespread protest and left several civilians wounded.
A large Israeli unit stormed the town, encircled Masalma’s residence, and forcibly barred residents from approaching. Soldiers planted explosives inside the three-story building and detonated it, causing extensive destruction and forcibly displacing the family.
Local residents protested the invasion and home detonation before Israeli soldiers opened fire with live rounds, injuring two Palestinians in the lower limbs. Dozens more suffered from tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces deployed high volumes of toxic gas grenades throughout the area.
Israeli authorities accuse Masalma of involvement in a shooting attack near the Al-Khader junction, south of Bethlehem, approximately eight months ago. The incident resulted in the death of one Israeli colonizer and injuries to three others.
Masalma was taken prisoner shortly after the attack during a military sweep that imposed closures and movement restrictions across southern Bethlehem and Hebron.
The detonation of Masalma’s home is part of Israel’s longstanding policy of punitive house demolitions, which rights groups and legal experts consistently condemned as a form of collective punishment.
This practice violates Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly prohibits collective penalties and reprisals against protected persons and their property. Such demolitions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international humanitarian and human rights law.
