Hebron families return to damaged homes after 10 days of displacement

Families returning to Hebron’s al-Jalada neighbourhood in the occupied West Bank on Monday found homes in disarray after 10 days of displacement during an Israeli military operation. For residents who had waited anxiously for news of a withdrawal, coming home brought relief alongside distress over the condition of their properties and belongings.

Israeli forces took control of the neighbourhood on October 24, the day after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers nearby. Nour al-Natsha, a 35-year-old orthopaedic surgeon, said his family had been allowed 20 minutes to leave. They took money, gold and essential documents, but left most of their clothing, everyday possessions and family photographs behind.

On Sunday evening, al-Natsha joined other families and neighbours in the nearby Wadi al-Karm area after reports that the operation had ended. They waited close to their homes until about midnight, then went back to their temporary accommodation because they could see no indication that troops had withdrawn. Confirmation of the withdrawal came in the early hours of Monday.

Al-Natsha set out for the neighbourhood at about 6am, encountering neighbours who were also returning. He waited for relatives before going in to inspect the homes. Accompanied initially by his father and two brothers, he found his house open and its contents disturbed. The men checked for suspicious objects and other possible dangers before the family began cleaning.

Some belongings were missing, including the pet bird belonging to al-Natsha’s four-year-old daughter, Ilya. He did not know whether the bird, named Natosh, had died or had been released by Israeli soldiers. His daughter continued to ask about it. Describing his own reaction to the house, al-Natsha said: “You couldn’t tell whether you were happy to be back home or heartbroken by what had happened to it.”

Once the family considered the property safe, they started restoring order and removing possessions they worried might have been damaged or contaminated. Their immediate aim was to make the house liveable again and recover something of their usual routine after the days spent away.

The restrictions and evacuations extended across several Hebron neighbourhoods, forcing hundreds of families from their homes and closing shops and institutions in the affected areas. Figures previously issued by the Hebron Governorate’s Support and Relief Committee put the number displaced at 537 families, or approximately 3,300 people.

Another al-Jalada resident, 68-year-old Khaled Shawer, said the damage and debris could be addressed now that families were back. For him, returning offered the possibility of recovering stability after displacement. He described home as “our paradise on Earth”, emphasising that being there again mattered more than the destruction and cleaning residents now faced.