Humanitarian Situation Update #198 | 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 next update will be issued on 2 August.

Key Highlights

• Six Palestinians were killed and 78 were injured by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers in conflict-related incidents across the West Bank in one week. 
• Between 7 October 2023 and 29 July 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced the demolition of 109 WASH structures, which is more than double the number of structures (49) in the same time period before 7 October. 
• 173 Palestinians, including 67 children, have been displaced in punitive demolitions since 7 October 2023. 

Latest developments (after 29 July)

• On 30 July, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian child at Beit 'Einun junction near Hebron. The boy was allegedly trying to stab Israeli soldiers positioned at the junction. The body is currently withheld by the Israeli army. No injuries among Israeli forces were reported. 
• On 31 July, initial reports by the Israeli military stated that a Palestinian man stabbed and injured an Israeli settler on Road 60 near Beit ‘Einoun, Hebron. Reportedly, the Palestinian shot at the settler from within his vehicle with a small firearm, and then exited his vehicle and proceeded to stab the settler. Israeli forces are conducting a search for the alleged perpetrator.   

Humanitarian Developments (23-29 July) 

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians, one of which was a child. On 23 July, a Palestinian child died from wounds sustained by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces during a search-and-arrest operation on 11 July in Meithalun town, Jenin. In addition, a Palestinian prisoner died while under Israeli custody during the reporting period. Some 78 Palestinians, including 22 children, were also injured in conflict-related incidents across the West Bank. One Israeli soldier was injured during a search-and-arrest operation in Tubas during the reporting period.  
• On 23 July, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men, and two others were arrested during a search-and-arrest operation in Sa’ir village, north of Hebron city. During the operation, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces who fired live ammunition, rubber coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters toward Palestinians.  
• On 23 July, at around midnight, Israeli forces shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian man during a punitive demolition in Qalandia Refugee Camp, Jerusalem. The demolished building belonged to the family of Mohammad Manasra, who shot and killed two Israeli settlers in Eli settlement on 29 February 2024 and was subsequently shot and killed by a settler. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers and tens of military vehicles entered the refugee camp to carry out the demolition that lasted seven hours. During the demolition, clashes erupted between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli soldiers who shot live ammunition and physically assaulted some of the residents. During the operation, Israeli forces imposed a curfew on the camp and deployed snipers on a number of rooftops. Israeli forces shot and injured six children, and two men were injured from physically assaults. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that their medical team was assaulted and denied access to the wounded man who later died. Damage to surrounding buildings, vehicles and furniture were also reported.  
• On July 24, a Palestinian man succumbed to his wounds sustained during the Israeli forces' operation on 23 July in Tulkarm Refugee Camp. According to medical sources, the man was shot in the back and stomach and was transferred to Al Isra Hospital where he was pronounced dead. During this operation, five Palestinians were killed by an airstrike. 
• On 24 July, under-cover Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian man and injured one other during an Israeli forces' search-and-arrest operation in Tubas city. The Palestinian man, a Palestinian Authority customs officer and originally from Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, was working in the customs office station when he was shot and killed, and his colleague was injured in the same incident. PRCS reported that Israeli forces surrounded the customs office for approximately 45 minutes, hindering the evacuation of casualties. No shots were reportedly fired by the two Palestinian officers. According to the Israeli military, the man was killed during an operation to arrest two other Palestinians, and the incident was under investigation. They also reported that one soldier was injured during the operation. 
• On 26 July, Israeli forces injured 14 Palestinians, including two children and an infant, during a night search-and-arrest operation in Abwein village in Ramallah. During the operation, Israeli forces broke into several Palestinian homes, physically assaulted four men, and arrested 20 others who were later released. Confrontations erupted as a result of the incursion, where Palestinians threw stones and Israeli forces fired live ammunition and teargas cannisters. One of the cannisters ignited a fire in one of the homes, causing injuries due to smoke and teargas inhalation to the family sleeping there, including two children and one infant who were evacuated from a balcony and transported to a hospital. One Palestinian was treated for shrapnel injury and another for injuries resulting from falling. One home was damaged from the fire and five others had furniture damaged by Israeli forces.  
• On 27 July, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including one child, with the use of live ammunition and a drone strike in Balata Refugee Camp, Nablus. In addition, some 36 people were injured during the operation, 26 of which were from live ammunition, four others from drone strike shrapnel, and six from shrapnel where the source is yet to be confirmed. The operation lasted for about 13 hours, where exchanges of fire were reported by Palestinians, in addition to the use of drone strikes, off-shoulder missiles and live ammunitioned by Israeli forces. A three-story residential building was shelled by at least two off-shoulder missiles fired by Israeli forces, causing significant damage, and resulting in the displacement of two refugee families comprising five people including two girls. Furthermore, at least 60 residential houses sustained minor to moderate damage. 
• On 27 July, Israeli forces injured four Palestinians, including two children during a search-and-arrest operation in Al Mazra'a al Qibliya village, Ramallah. Israeli forces broke into several Palestinian homes, destroying furniture and physically assaulting and injuring two Palestinians. As a result of the operation, confrontations erupted where Palestinians threw stones toward the Israeli forces’ vehicles, and Israeli forces responded with live ammunition, shooting and injuring two children. All four injured Palestinians were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. 
• Between 7 October 2023 and 29 July 2024, 569 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. These include 554 killed by Israeli forces, ten by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 14 Israelis, including nine members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of eight Israelis and five Palestinian perpetrators. 
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 21 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in six injuries, including one child, and damage to property. Between 7 October 2023 and 29 July 2024, OCHA recorded 1,143 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 106 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, 905 incidents led to damage to Palestinian property, and 121 incidents led to both casualties and property damage. The following are some of the key incidents documented by OCHA during the reporting period:    
  • On 23 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from Yitzhar settlement, set fire to Palestinian land in three locations in Area C around Burin village, Nablus. According to an eyewitness, settlers arrived on quadbikes and set fire to Palestinian olive groves. The fire spread to reach more than 30 cultivated dunums and damaging over 300 olive trees, affecting the livelihoods of at least 10 families from Burin and the nearby Huwwara village. Access to the affected lands normally does not require prior coordination with Israeli authorities, however farmers have been regularly denied access by Israeli forces since the events of October 2023.  
  • On 27 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from Ofra settlement outposts, physically assaulted and injured three Palestinians in At Tayba village, Ramallah. Local community sources and eyewitnesses stated that a group of armed settlers surrounded three Palestinians with quadbikes and assaulted them with sticks, while the Palestinians were assessing agricultural land for future work. According to the affected, Israeli settlers tied them down to the ground at gunpoint and beat them with sticks. Moreover, Israeli settlers stole their phones and other personal belongings. Before leaving, the settlers threatened them not to return, after which the Palestinians managed to escape the area to a hospital. 
  • On 27 July, Israeli settlers believed to be from newly established outposts in the eastern outskirts of Bariyat Hizma area, physically assaulted and injured two Palestinians shepherds, including one child, in two incidents on the same day in Hizma village, Jerusalem. According to the affected, at about 01:30, Israeli settlers riding three tractors, accompanied by the Israeli settlement guards, raided the community and chased Palestinian residents and fired live ammunition at them, threatening to kill them if they do not leave the area.  The community called the Israeli police but received no response. At around 15:00, the Israeli settlers returned in larger numbers armed with knives and sticks and began vandalizing Palestinian property on agricultural land. They destroyed metal-wired fences surrounding the land, cut 40 trees and brought their livestock to graze on Palestinian land. When the Palestinians approached the settlers, they were attacked with sticks and stones and one Palestinian child was struck on the head. Israeli forces arrived at the scene, arrested four Palestinians and then withdrew. 
• Between 23 and 29 July, the Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 30 Palestinian-owned structures, 28 of which were due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. These include 23 structures in Area C, one in Area B and six in East Jerusalem. Four of the structures demolished were Water Sanitation and Hygiene buildings (WASH) structures. As a result, 57 Palestinians, including 25 children, were displaced and around 114, including 44 children, were otherwise affected. In Ar Rakeez (Hebron), Israeli forces demolished a donor-funded residential shelter, a residential room, an animal shelter and a latrine; displacing 12 people, including five children. On the outskirts of Jericho city, in Area C, Israeli authorities demolished three structures for lacking an Israeli-issued building permit; resulting in the displacement of two households comprising of 11 people, including five children. Also in Jericho, Israeli authorities demolished seven structures in Al Jiftlik-abu al ‘Ajaj due to the lack of an Israeli-issued building permit. As a result, 11 people, including two children, were displaced, and four other families, including a refugee family, comprising 19 people including eleven children, were otherwise affected. The demolished structures included an inhabited residential house, a mobile latrine, a caravan, an uninhabited residential structure, an agricultural house and two other agricultural structures. Overall, between 1 January and 29 July 2024, 706 structures were demolished and 861 people were displaced for lacking Israeli-issued building permits in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, compared with 555 structures demolished and 631 people displaced in the corresponding period in 2023.  
• Between 7 October and 29 July, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced the demolition of 1,311 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, of which 39 per cent (515 structures) were inhabited homes. As a result, 2,996 people, including 1,310 children, were displaced. Over half of those displaced (1,541) had their homes destroyed during military operations, particularly in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and the surrounding refugee camps; 43 per cent (1,282 people) were displaced due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; and six per cent (173) were displaced by punitive demolitions. The affected buildings during this period include 109 WASH structures, which is more than double the amount in the same period before 7 October (49). 

Other Developments 

• On July 26, the Palestinian Authority Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that a Palestinian detainee had died in an Israeli prison due to a decline in his health. The prisoner had been under administrative detention in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, 19 Palestinian prisoners, including some who hold Israeli citizenship, have died in Israeli prisons since 7 October 2023. 

Funding 

• As of 31 July, Member States have disbursed about $1.6 billion out of $3.42 billion (47 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. On 10 July, DSC/RC/HC Hadi stated that “more funding is urgently needed – as is a safe, enabling environment inside Gaza. Increased funding now will enable the humanitarian community to scale up operations as soon as conditions permit. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)  
• The occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) has 111 ongoing projects, for a total of $88 million, addressing urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). Of the total, 63 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Since 7 October, the oPt HF has mobilized over $112 million from Member States and private donors to support urgent humanitarian and life-saving programmes across the OPT. Of total funding, 89 per cent has been allocated to projects in Gaza. A summary of the oPt HF activities and challenges in June 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 oPt HF.