Humanitarian Situation Update #178 | West Bank

The Humanitarian Situation Update is issued by OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory three times per week. The Gaza Strip is covered on Mondays and Fridays, and the West Bank is covered on Wednesdays. The “Humanitarian Situation Update” is a rebranding of the “Flash Update”. The next Humanitarian Situation Update will be published on 14 June.

Key Highlights

• Over 500 Palestinians, including over 100 children, have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October. Nearly 75 per cent of the fatalities (over 380 Palestinians) took place during operations by Israeli forces in cities and villages, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm, including refugee camps which constituted 34 per cent of those killed (196).
• 183 Palestinians from the Jerusalem governorate have been displaced since the beginning of this year. Over the past week, 55 Palestinians were displaced, representing 30 per cent of total displacement in Jerusalem since 1 January.  Palestinians displaced in Jerusalem governorate represent 36 per cent of the overall number of people displaced in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
• Since 7 October and until 28 May, the World Health Organization has documented 480 attacks on health care in the West Bank. Some 16 people have been killed and 95 have been injured in such attacks. Furthermore, 319 ambulances, 54 health facilities and 20 mobile clinics have been affected.

Latest developments (after 10 June)

• On 11 June, according to media reports, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank stated that Israeli forces killed six Palestinian men during an operation, which included an exchange of fire, in Kufr Dan, Jenin.

Humanitarian Developments (4 – 10 June)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces shot and killed 13 Palestinians, 11 of whom were killed in operations in refugee camps and villages. In addition, 75 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces, the majority (59) also during operations, mainly sustained in the refugee camps of Al Far’a (Tubas), Jenin, and Aqbat Jaber (Jericho).
• Between 7 October 2023 and 10 June 2024, 521 Palestinians, including 126 children, were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; these include 504 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, ten by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli soldiers or settlers. Nearly 74 per cent of the fatalities (over 380 Palestinians) occurred during operations by Israeli forces in cities, villages and refugee camps, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates. In addition, over 5,200 Palestinians, including about 800 children, were injured, more than a third by live ammunition. During the same period, 12 Israelis, including seven soldiers and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians and at least 105 Israelis, including 70 soldiers, were injured in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In addition, during the same period, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of eight Israelis and four Palestinian perpetrators in Israel. 
• The following are among other deadly incidents reported between 4 and 10 June:
  • On 4 June, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men near a military gate located at the Barrier, West of Tulkarm city, reportedly in an exchange of fire. According to Israeli media citing the Israeli army, Israeli forces ambushed the two men as they approached the Barrier, killed them and confiscated a rifle.
  • On 6 June, Israeli forces, which included an undercover unit, shot and killed three Palestinians, including a 17-year-old boy, and injured 20 others, in an operation in Jenin Refugee Camp and its surroundings. During the operation, an Israeli military helicopter struck some areas in the camp, causing damage to at least two residential houses. An exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians was also reported. Footage shows an Israeli military jeep chasing two Palestinians, including a child, while they were riding on a motorcycle, and were shot from behind. Of the injured, nine were due to live ammunition, six due to shrapnel, and five when military jeeps ran over them.
  • On 6 and 8 June, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in Ya’bad (Jenin) and Anabta (Tulkarm), respectively, in two separate operations by Israeli forces.
  • On 10 June, Israeli forces, which included an undercover unit, shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy and injured five other Palestinians in an operation in El Far'a Refugee Camp, south of Tubas. The operation, which lasted for 16 hours, involved an exchange of fire between Palestinians and Israeli forces. Camp residents reported that an Israeli undercover unit was hiding in a community centre for people with disabilities inside the camp.
  • In a separate incident on 10 June 2024, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured a nine-year-old boy in an operation in Dhinnaba neighborhood of Tulkarm city. The man was shot when Israeli forces were arresting another Palestinian. According to the Palestine Red Crecent Society (PRCS), the man was left bleeding on the ground until he died. Reportedly, Israeli forces shot at the PRCS ambulance and initially prevented them from evacuating the injured boy.
  • On 10 June, Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinian men, injured eight others, and arrested four during an operation in Kafr Ni’ma village, west of Ramallah. According to local and official Palestinian sources, Israeli forces raided the village at about 09:00 and conducted a search operation. They confiscated surveillance cameras and set up a checkpoint at the village's entrance that operated until night. At about 20:30 on the same day, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in an area between Kafr Ni’ma and the nearby village of Bil’in, whom they had suspected of setting fire to a caravan and a vehicle in a settlement outpost in the area that resulted in property damage. The forces then shot and killed three Palestinian men in a vehicle when they reportedly attempted to reach the injured man. According to PRCS, their medics reached the area to evacuate the injured but were denied access by Israeli forces for at least two hours. One ambulance had its tires punctured by Israeli forces’ live ammunition as it attempted to reach the injured. Israeli forces opened fire at those gathered at the scene, injuring eight Palestinians with live ammunition, including one child. Israeli forces also assaulted and arrested four Palestinian men at the scene. Israeli forces withheld the bodies of those killed following the incident. According to Israeli forces, on 9 June a Palestinian man wearing a military uniform tried to commit an arson attack in Sde Efraim settlement outpost. Furthermore, the Israeli forces claim they opened fire at a Palestinian vehicle that was attempting to run over Israeli soldiers who were patrolling near Kafr Ni’ma. During this incident, an Israeli soldier was injured by friendly fire.
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 13 attacks that resulted in the injury of 15 Palestinians and damage to Palestinian property, including the vandalism of trees, saplings and crops. Between 7 October 2023 and 10 June 2024, OCHA recorded 968 settler attacks against Palestinians. These include attacks which have led to Palestinian casualties (98 incidents), damage to Palestinian property (767 incidents), or both (103 incidents). During these attacks, Israeli settlers killed ten Palestinians, injured 237 others, and destroyed or damaged over 43,600 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings.
• The following are some examples of settler attacks that took place between 4 and 10 June:
  • Eleven Palestinians were injured and at least 360 Palestinian-owned trees and plants were damaged in three separate incidents, where dozens of settlers from Yitzhar settlement, accompanied by Israeli forces, perpetrated attacks in ‘Urif, Qusra and Burqa villages in Nablus, triggering clashes with Palestinians. Five of the injuries were sustained by live ammunition shot by Israeli forces, including two in critical condition (in ‘Urif), one was hit by a tear gas cannister, and others suffered from tear gas inhalation.  
  • Israeli settlers from a newly established Israeli herding outpost assaulted a Palestinian man while he was picnicking near Ras ‘Ein al ‘Auja in Jericho. Israeli settlers also assaulted a Palestinian man while he was shepherding near Hizma in Jerusalem and attempted to steal his sheep.  
  • Thousands of Israelis, including Israeli settlers marched through the Old City of Jerusalem on 5 June. A number of those who marched attacked Palestinians and damaged property, which forced Palestinian traders to close their shops. Moreover, hundreds made their way to Al Aqsa Mosque compound for prayers, where they and Israeli forces prevented Palestinians from accessing the Mosque. Furthermore, the marchers physically assaulted two Palestinian journalists, one Israeli journalist and one female foreign journalist during the march. Israeli forces who accompanied the marchers, physically assaulted dozens of Palestinians and arrested 20 Palestinians. 
  • On 7 June, Israeli settlers from the Givat Assaf outpost set fire to agricultural land planted with wheat and barley crops and trees in Burqa, Deir Dibwan and Beitin villages in Ramallah governorate. Furthermore, at least ten houses, hundreds of trees, dozens of cars and hundreds of dunums of land were damaged in the attack, and settlers reportedly fired live ammunition at Palestinian property. On the same day, in Hebron governorate, settlers vandalized three structures in At Tuwani village, and grazed their livestock on seasonal crops in Umm ad Daraj village.  
• During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished or forced Palestinian owners to demolish 50 Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, displacing 88 people, including 43 children. These included 43 structures in Area C of the West Bank. The remaining seven structures demolished and 33 people displaced were in East Jerusalem, the majority (29 people) when the owner was forced to demolish his six-story residential building in Jabal al Mukkabir on 8 June.
• On 3 June, during the previous reporting period, the Israeli civil administration, accompanied by Israeli forces demolished twelve structures citing the lack of Israeli issued building permits in Area C, south of 'Anata Bedouins (Wa'ar al Beik) community, in Jerusalem governate. As a result, an extended family of four refugee households comprising 22 people, including 13 children, were displaced.
• Based on field assessments carried out by the UN during the reporting period, at least three houses were damaged during this week’s operations in the refugee camps of Jenin (on 6 June) and Al Far’a (on 10 June). As a result, 14 people, including five children, were displaced. In both operations, Israeli forces bulldozed sections of streets in and around the camps. In another operation in Kafr Dan village in Jenin, Israeli forces bulldozed several road sections, causing damage to civilian infrastructure, resulting in a water cut-off that lasted over ten hours. This affected the access to drinking water for about 30 percent of Kafr Dan population (~7,500 persons). The operation resulted in the destruction of about 80 metres of asphalt road sections and over 100 metres of external blocks and concrete walls of various properties. Additionally, over 100 waste containers of various capacities were destroyed.
• Since 7 October 2023 and until 10 June 2024, the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced Palestinian owners to demolish 990 Palestinian-owned structures, of which 34 per cent (366 structures) were inhabited homes displacing, 2,155 people, including 1,036 children. These include: 1,089 people (51 per cent) displaced by the demolition of homes during operations by Israeli forces, particularly in refugee camps in and near Tulkarm and Jenin cities; 907 people (42 per cent) displaced by demolitions due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; and 159 (7 per cent) by demolitions on punitive grounds.

Funding

• As of 12 June, Member States have disbursed about US$1.06 billion out of $3.42 billion (31 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard.
• The oPt HF has 118 ongoing projects, for a total of $72.5 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (85 per cent) and West Bank (15 per cent). The HF has allocated an additional $22 million to bolster prioritized HF-funded projects in Gaza. Recently, 14 projects for a total of $5 million have been approved under the Third Reserve Allocation titled "Critical Humanitarian Aid for Gaza Amidst Escalating Conflict and Displacement (Phase 3)." Following a steep rise in displacement from Rafah to Khan Younis and Deir al Balah and to capitalize on the operational presence of national partners, these projects will be implemented by national NGOs (12 projects) or through a partnership between international and national NGOs (2 projects). Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $100 million from Member States and private donors, designated for programmes throughout Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in May 2024 is available through this link and the 2023 Annual Report of the oPt HF can be accessed here. Private donations are collected directly through the Humanitarian Fund.