Humanitarian Situation Update #207 | 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 23 August.

Key Highlights

• So far in August, Israeli airstrikes in the West Bank killed at least one Palestinian every day, on average. Since 7 October, 128 Palestinians, including 26 children, have been killed in airstrikes in the West Bank.
• Overall, since 7 October, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
• In just one week, 13-19 August, 45 Palestinians, including 28 children were displaced due to Israeli settler violence and harassment, and the takeover of Palestinian property.

Humanitarian Developments(13-19 August)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 12 Palestinians, including two children, and an Israeli settler shot and killed one other Palestinian. Eight out of the 12 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes. On average, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than one Palestinian a day so far in August, and a total of 128, including at least 26 children, since 7 October 2023. Israeli forces and settlers have injured 61 Palestinians, including 10 children, during the reporting period. In Israel, a Palestinian was killed while attempting to use an explosive in Tel Aviv, Israel. One Israeli civilian was injured.
• On 13 August, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in Anata, Jerusalem. According to community sources, the child was shot by a sniper from the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement while he was inside his family's carwash facility. The family transported him to a medical centre in Anata, and he was subsequently transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, after which Israeli forces withheld his body. According to Israeli media citing Israeli forces, an Israeli soldier sniper shot the boy after he allegedly tried to throw Molotov cocktails near the wall surrounding Anata with other Palestinians.
• On 13 August, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured nine others during a punitive demolition of two residencies with explosives in Al Tira and Em al Sharait neighbourhoods of Ramallah. The residences belonged to the family of two Palestinians who were detained and accused of being involved in a shooting incident on Road 60 in Ramallah on 7 January, killing two Palestinians, including one with Israeli citizenship. To carry out the demolitions, hundreds of Israeli soldiers and tens of military vehicles entered the city, during which Palestinians threw stones at the Israeli forces and the latter shot live ammunition, sound bombs, and tear gas canisters at the Palestinians. One Palestinian was shot in the back with live ammunition and died, three others were injured with live ammunition, one with rubber-coated metal bullets, one was run over by an Israeli military vehicle, one was physically assaulted, and three Palestinians, including a child, were treated for tear gas inhalation. One Palestinian was injured from a stone thrown by another Palestinian. As a result of the demolition, seven Palestinians were displaced, including two elderly women. During the demolition, 16 other residences were damaged, and 12 households comprising 49 people, including four children, were forced to temporarily evacuate their homes at midnight.
• On 14 August, an Israeli drone strike killed four Palestinians (aged 17-19 years), including one child, during an operation in Tammun town, Tubas Governorate. The Israeli forces then took and withheld the bodies of the four Palestinians. During the attack, two other Palestinians were injured, including one child. According to the Israeli military, their forces killed four armed Palestinians, after which they confiscated weapons from the scene. Furthermore, two Israeli soldiers were injured when their vehicle drove over an explosive device planted by Palestinians.
• On 14 August, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians and injured seven others, including one girl, during an operation in Balata Refugee Camp, east of Nablus. During this operation, an exchange of fire occurred between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the Camp. An airstrike hit two armed Palestinians inside the camp, killing them and injuring seven other Palestinians. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) transported five of those injured to a nearby hospital, while two others, a woman, and her daughter, were treated on the ground. According to UNRWA, the airstrike damaged the doors and windows of at least five residencies in the camp.
• On 14 August, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during a four-hour operation in Tubas city. Israeli forces encircled a two-storey house, forcing the family to evacuate and demanding that a man inside turn himself in. According to local sources, the Palestinian man remained inside the house; exchanges of fire were heard and at least two shoulder-fired explosive projectiles were launched at the house during the operation. As a result, the building was severely damaged and 10 people were displaced, including six children. Israeli forces withheld the man's body after his death. Additionally, the Tubas municipality stated that, while the house was encircled, Israeli forces struck a car with a drone with no reported casualties.
• On 17 August, Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men in an airstrike in Jenin city. According to the Israeli military, they struck a vehicle with two Palestinians inside who they claim were responsible for the killing of an Israeli civilian on 11 August. PRCS reported that they transported the two fatalities and another man who was injured from shrapnel while working in his shop.
• On 19 August, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man, and injured one 16-year-old Palestinian child, during an operation in the town of Dura, south of Hebron. During the operation, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces, who fired live ammunition at the Palestinians.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 19 August 2024, 607 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 589 killed by Israeli forces, eleven by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 15 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 ten Israelis and seven Palestinian perpetrators.
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 27 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in one fatality and seven injuries, and damage to property. Palestinians perpetrated three attacks against settlers in this period, resulting in the injury of one Israeli settler. Between 7 October 2023 and 19 August 2024, OCHA recorded about 1,270 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which about 120 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, about 1,020 led to damage to Palestinian property, and about 130 led to both casualties and property damage. The following are some of the key incidents documented by OCHA during the reporting period:
  • On 13 August, thousands of Israeli settlers, Israeli civilians, and several Israeli ministers under the protection of Israeli forces marched through the Old City of Jerusalem and entered the Al Aqsa compound and its gates for the commemoration of the Jewish holiday of Tish’a B’Av. Marchers harassed, assaulted, and destroyed Palestinian property while chanting racist slogans. According to local sources, groups of marchers assaulted Palestinian worshippers, including a man and his wife, as they were leaving the Al Aqsa Mosque after dawn prayers while Israeli forces stood by. Additionally, they sprayed Palestinian shop owners with pepper spray and ransacked the goods of several shops. Furthermore, they punctured the tyres of at least three Palestinian-owned motorcycles parked near homes. In conjunction with these attacks, Israeli forces restricted the movement of Palestinians inside the city, including around Al Aqsa Mosque. One Palestinian was physically assaulted and arrested by Israeli forces during the march.
  • On 15 August, an Israeli settler shot and killed a Palestinian man in Jit village, east of Qalqiliya city. Over 100 settlers, many of whom were armed with guns, Molotov cocktails, sticks, and stones, believed to be from the nearby Gilad Farm settlement, threw flammable materials and stones at Palestinian property in the village. As a result, one uninhabited house, three yards, and four vehicles were completely burned. The Palestinian residents attempted to repel the attackers by throwing stones and the latter opened fire, killing one Palestinian. During the attack, Israeli forces erected a flying checkpoint at the entrance of the village. According to Israeli media, an initial investigation by Israeli forces concludes that the soldiers present did not take enough action to prevent the settler attack. Local sources reported that Israeli forces intervened after about 50 minutes by firing bullets in the air and managed to disperse the settlers within 10 minutes. PRCS treated three Palestinian injuries on-site, including one woman who suffered from smoke inhalation due to her house being set on fire.
  • On 16 August, armed Israeli settlers and Israeli forces physically assaulted and injured two Palestinian shepherds in Kafr ad Dik town, west of Salfit city. According to the mayor and the affected men, Palestinian shepherds were herding in their lands when armed Israeli settlers believed to be from an outpost near Pdu'el settlement, arrived and threatened to kill them if they stayed. Five Palestinian shepherds were arrested, and two Palestinian men were injured while under Israeli forces custody. Medical sources reported that one of the injured men, an 18-year-old, had a fracture in his knee, while another man was hit on the head. One of the affected men reported that Israeli forces covered their eyes, handcuffed them, and physically assaulted them for two days. Medical personnel report that five other Palestinians were assaulted but did not require hospitalization.
  • On 16 August, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian man in Batn al Hawa area in Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. The man’s family had been evicted from their home the previous day. According to local sources, Israeli settlers raided the area and threw debris and rubbish at a Palestinian house. When the owner attempted to stop them, one of the settlers pointed a gun at the Palestinian man, sprayed pepper gas at him, physically assaulted him and pushed him off a high embankment.
• During the reporting period, at least nine Palestinian households comprising at least 45 people, including 28 children, were displaced due to Israeli settler violence and harassment, and the takeover of Palestinian property. Since 7 October 2023, 259 Palestinians households comprising 1,547 people, including 753 children, have been displaced in the context of incidents related to Israeli settlers.
• On 15 August, a group of armed Israelis associated with Ateret Cohanim settler organization, under the protection of Israeli forces, forcibly evicted four households, comprising 18 people, including 11 children, and displaced them from their three-story building in Batn al Hawa neighbourhood of Silwan. The building contained four apartments belonging to a Palestinian family that had been living there for decades. Israeli forces closed all entrances to the neighbourhood as the Israeli settlers took over the building. The District Court of Jerusalem ruled in favour of the settlers in 2022, after many years of legal proceedings. On 11 April 2024, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by the family against the eviction. Palestinians gathered to protest but were dispersed by Israeli forces who fired sound grenades and teargas canisters. Since 2004, Ateret Cohanim has filed dozens of eviction cases against some 87 Palestinian families living in Batn Al Hawa area of Silwan, placing about 400 people at risk of displacement.
• On 16 August 2024, Israeli settlers harassed and displaced at least five Palestinian households comprising 27 people, including 17 children, from the Bedouin community of Ein al Hilwa – Um al Jmal, in Tubas Governorate. Additional families from the community have indicated their intention to leave, due to persistent harassment from settlers at a settlement outpost, established, 500 meters from the community, on 11 August 2024. The families have been subjected to ongoing intimidation, with armed settlers trespassing daily into the community, harassing residents, and grazing their livestock close to and within the community. Furthermore, settlers have prevented Palestinians from accessing the grazing areas around the community. On 15 August, settlers intimidated the community members and attempted to steal their livestock. Community members also reported being unable to bring water to the community, as they fear Israeli forces would confiscate their water tanks.
• Between 13 and 19 August, Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 34 Palestinian-owned structures. Two of the structures were punitively demolished, another structure was destroyed during an Israeli forces’ operation, and the remaining 31 were targeted due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. A total of 31 of the demolished structures were in Area C and East Jerusalem and three were in Area A. As a result, 54 Palestinians, including 26 children, were displaced and about 163, including 72 children, were otherwise affected.
• On 14 August, the Israeli Civil Administration accompanied by Israeli forces, demolished 15 Palestinian-owned structures, citing lack of Israeli-issued building permits in At Tur. As a result of the demolition, two households, consisting of nine people, including five children, were displaced. Additionally, eight households, comprising 44 people, including 21 children, were otherwise affected by the demolitions. All belongings and equipment within the demolished structures were destroyed during the demolition.
• On 14 August, the Israeli Civil Administration along with Israeli forces demolished two inhabited residential caravans and two tents, citing lack of building permits, in Umm al Kheir community, Area C of the Hebron governorate. As a result, two households comprising 11 people, including four children, were displaced while another family comprising seven people, including four children, were otherwise affected. The tents and the two residential caravans were provided as a response to previous demolitions, including one that took place on 26 June. No written orders are known to have been delivered by the Israeli Civil Administration prior to the demolition.
• On 19 August, the Israeli Civil Administration along with Israeli forces demolished one under-construction, livelihood-related, four-storey building for lacking an Israeli-issued building permit in Area C of Ar Ram, Jerusalem. As a result, five households comprising 26 people, including 17 children, were affected. The building was intended to be used for a family business. According to the family, they received a stop-work order in March 2024, appointed a private lawyer who submitted two appeals at Israeli courts, including one at the Israeli Supreme Court, but all were rejected. The family received no further final demolition order prior to the demolition, and the demolition happened without any notice.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 19 August 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced the demolition of 1,416 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, displacing more than 3,200 Palestinians, including about 1,400 children, which is more than double compared with the same period before 7 October, where 1,299 Palestinians were displaced, including 606 children. The demolitions after 7 October include over 500 inhabited structures, more than 300 agricultural structures, more than 100 water, sanitation and hygiene structures, and 200 livelihood structures. Some 28 incidents of demolitions and destruction of infrastructure, mostly in Tulkarm and Jenin, account for the majority of those affected.

Funding

• As of 16 August, Member States have disbursed about US$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. 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.)
• During July 2024, the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed a total of 98 ongoing projects, totalling $81.4 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). The projects were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items (NFI), water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition. Of these projects, 55 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 31 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 32 out of the 67 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. 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 July 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. For an overall picture of the OCHA-managed pooled funds response since October 2023, please see link.