The IDF has increased its deployment across the West Bank to 26 battalions, adding two battalions amid a sharp escalation marked by Palestinian terrorist attacks and attacks from settlers, The Jerusalem Post learned on Monday.
The figure represents the number of battalions operating across the West Bank rather than a disclosed number of soldiers. The deployment is not static, with forces routinely moved between areas according to operational assessments and changing security needs.
It is unclear whether the additional deployment will remain in place throughout the summer and ahead of the High Holy Days, as the military continues to reassess a rapidly shifting situation.
The Post was not provided with a separate breakdown of forces assigned to prevent attacks by extremist Israelis against Palestinians. Their distribution is determined by broader situational assessments.
The reinforcement comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered increased troop deployments, additional checkpoints, and expanded counterterrorism operations following Friday’s deadly shooting near Gilad Farm. Security forces arrested more than 70 terror suspects across the West Bank the following day.
Confrontations, shootings, Israelis and Palestinians dead
According to the IDF, Friday’s incident began when a group of Israeli civilians entered Palestinian Authority-controlled territory near the village of Tal without coordinating with the military.
A confrontation developed with local Palestinians, during which a Palestinian seized a weapon and opened fire. IDF Chief Sgt. First Class Benayahu Mellet, 32, a member of Gilad Farm’s local emergency response squad, and Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, an Artillery Corps battery commander, were killed.
The Palestinian shooter was also killed. Palestinian officials said four Palestinians were killed during the broader confrontation, but the precise sequence of events, including how the other Palestinians died, remains unclear and is under investigation.
Ahmed Ramadan, 71, the father of one of the Palestinians killed on Friday, said settlers have continually harassed their home on the edge of Tal.
Israel Police said on Monday that security forces arrested nine suspects in overnight raids, including the father of one of the Palestinians killed Friday. Police did not say what he was suspected of and did not allege that he was involved in the attack.
Three other wanted suspects were arrested in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus in an undercover Border Police operation directed by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). Police said they were suspected of terrorist activity but gave no further details.
Six additional suspects were arrested in separate operations in Tal near Nablus, Ramallah, Shuweika near Tulkarm, and Bani Naim near Hebron.
The shooting followed a stabbing near Elon Moreh on Thursday, in which 51-year-old Itamar Cohen was seriously wounded after attempting to extinguish a fire allegedly set by residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Beit Furik. The two Palestinian attackers were killed.
Continuing incidents: soldiers attacked, fire set to mosque
On Saturday, an off-duty soldier and another Israeli were injured near the Sussiya Junction. The IDF said a Palestinian threw stones at the men and took a weapon from one of them. The weapon was recovered, and four suspects were arrested.
In the early hours of Sunday, Israelis set fire to a mosque in the village of Kusra and sprayed “Revenge for Benayahu” and a Star of David on its entrance.
The weekend attacks followed incidents in Jalud and Turmus Aiya, where the IDF confirmed that Israeli civilians attempted to set fire to Palestinian property and became involved in violent confrontations. Suspects fled before security forces arrived and no arrests were immediately reported.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has instructed commanders to prevent further friction between Israelis and Palestinians, while senior Central Command officials have warned that terrorism and violence originating from unauthorized outposts are making it increasingly difficult to maintain security and public order.
In Gaza, the IDF said on Monday that it killed Wael Musa Khaled Ladawi, who it said headed Hamas’s internal security in the center of the enclave.
The IDF described the apparatus as a central clandestine body that collected intelligence for senior Hamas officials, supported decision-making, and facilitated the planning and execution of attacks against Israel.
In northern Gaza, east of the Yellow Line, troops dismantled an underground tunnel route, the military said.
The IDF also said it killed Amro Abu Alrish, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad Nukhba terrorist involved in one of the releases of an Israeli hostage earlier in the war, and Abd Al-Nasser Al-Aziz Maqadmeh, a Hamas police commander and deputy platoon commander.
In southern Lebanon, the IDF said troops found two drawings of Adolf Hitler inside a private home in the village of Taybeh.
Arabic-language IDF spokesperson Ella Waweya, known as “Captain Ella,” said the drawings were signed with the name Hassan Haidar and were believed to belong to a larger portfolio.
The military said it suspected the portfolio had been prepared for a school operating under Hezbollah’s auspices.
The IDF did not provide further evidence identifying the artist or establishing the portfolio’s connection to Hezbollah.
The discovery comes as a US-brokered ceasefire continues to hold and Israel tests a phased withdrawal from parts of southern Lebanon. Under a US-backed pilot program, the Lebanese Army has begun entering Froun, Srifa, and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, with Israel so far withdrawing from Zawtar.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that air defenses intercepted drones launched from Iraq that attempted to target oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh.
The ministry blamed Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and called on Baghdad to prevent Iraqi territory from being used as a launchpad.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis separately said they targeted crude oil infrastructure linking eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea city of Yanbu, in response to what they called Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace.
Near Israel, the IDF said it shot down two drones in the area of the Israel-Jordan border. The drones did not cross into Israeli territory, and the military said it was reviewing their origin.
Jordan’s armed forces also said they downed two drones on Monday morning, with no casualties or material damage.
The statement did not identify who launched them.
Also on Monday, Iran said it remained in control of the Strait of Hormuz and was not seeking to resume peace talks with the United States after US President Donald Trump halted a two-week bombing campaign.
Following 13 successive nights of bombing that prompted Tehran to fire on US bases, Trump halted the campaign over the weekend. Iran said it would suspend its attacks for as long as the US pause endures.
The end of the campaign sent oil prices tumbling, with Brent crude falling more than 8% on Monday to just under $89 a barrel.
Jordan reported shooting down two drones, while Iraqi security sources said drones struck a base of Iranian Kurdish opposition fighters in northern Iraq. There were no reports of casualties.
Iranian state media cited an “informed source” as saying Iran had turned around six ships that attempted to cross the strait without permission. Iran says ships may pass only through a channel closer to its coast, which it controls and where it intends to impose transit fees.
