Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Kings 17:6

"In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." — 2 Kings 17:6 (ASV)

The king of Assyria took Samaria - That is, according to the Assyrian inscriptions, it was not Shalmaneser but Sargon, who claims to have captured the city in the first year of his reign (721 B.C.). At first, Sargon carried off no more than 27,280 prisoners from Samaria and was so far from depopulating the country that he assessed the tribute on the remaining inhabitants at the same rate as before the conquest. But later in his reign, he carried out the wholesale deportation mentioned here.

Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan - This should be read as, “on the Habor, the river of Gozan.” Halah is the tract of land that Ptolemy calls Chalcitis, on the borders of Gauzanitis (Gozan) in the vicinity of the Chaboras, or Khabour (Habor, the great tributary of the Euphrates). In this region is a remarkable mound called Gla, which probably marks the site, and represents the name, of the city of Chalach, from which the district Chalcitis took its name.

In the cities of the Medes - Sargon relates that he overran Media, seized and “annexed to Assyria” a number of the towns, and also established a set of fortified posts or colonies in the country.