Humanitarian Situation Update #210 | 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 30 August. 

Key Highlights

• Some 13 Palestinians, including four children, were killed between 20 and 26 August. Eight of these were killed in Israeli airstrikes. 
• Some 136 Palestinians have been killed and 41 injured in Israeli airstrikes since October 2023, 135 of them occurring in the northern governorates.  
• By contrast, between 2020 and October 2023, six Palestinians were killed in airstrikes, all in 2023.

Latest Developments (after August 26)

• On 28 August, initial reports of wide-scale Israeli operations involving helicopters, drones, and ground forces in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates are reported. At least ten Palestinians, have been killed, seven of which were in airstrikes, and 11 others injured. 

Humanitarian Developments (20-26 August) 

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 13 Palestinians, including four children. Eight out of the 13 killed were in airstrikes. Israeli forces and settlers have injured 47 Palestinians, including 9 children. On 25 August, a Palestinian man succumbed to wounds sustained from live ammunition during an Israeli operation on 23 July in Izbat al Jarrad village, Tulkarm. The injured man was initially arrested and taken to an Israeli hospital where he was later pronounced dead. 
  • On 22 August, an Israeli forces’ airstrike killed three Palestinians, during a 16-hour operation in Tulkarm Refugee Camp. According to the family of one of the Palestinians killed, he was in his kitchen preparing milk for his child and was not aware of the attack. The operation involved exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians, who also used explosive devices. Military bulldozers caused considerable damage to infrastructure, residential buildings, and livelihood structures. Consequently, at least 21 households comprising 85 people, including 21 children, have been displaced as their homes have become uninhabitable. During an on-site assessment by UNRWA, sewage floods were observed in different road sections and at least 35 sewer holes and at least 50 house water connections were damaged. 
  • On 25 August, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including one child, near the entrance of the Salfit governorate. According to the Israeli military, a vehicle drove against the flow of traffic attempting to run over soldiers. One soldier was injured in the incident.  
  • On 25 August, Israeli forces shot and injured two Palestinians in the village of Tarqumiya, west of Hebron city. The Palestinians were workers attempting to enter Israel through a hole in the Separation Barrier and were stopped by Israeli forces. The soldiers ordered them to lay down on the ground then shot them in the legs. As a result, one of the Palestinians had his leg amputated. 
  • On 25 August, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy near Al Jalama checkpoint, north of Jenin city. According to local sources, armed clashes occurred at the checkpoint when Palestinians opened fire from within a car towards the checkpoint and Israeli forces responded by firing live ammunition, which hit a Palestinian inside the vehicle. In addition, two houses that were 50 meters away from the area were struck with live ammunition, one of which was damaged by a gas cylinder that exploded. 
  • On 26 August 2024, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man near Khirbet al Majaz in the Israeli-designated “Firing Zone 918 area” of Masafer Yata. The man, a Palestinian labourer, attempted to cross into Israel along with other workers. Israeli forces patrolling the area opened fire at the group, hitting the man in the head. He was transferred to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. 
  • On 26 August, Israeli airstrikes killed five Palestinians, including two children, in Nur Shams Refugee Camp, Tulkarm governorate. Israeli drones launched missiles at a group of Palestinians gathered on the street in Al Manshiya neighborhood, killing five Palestinians on the spot. According to the Israeli military, among the five Palestinians killed were Palestinians that had planned attacks against Israeli forces. 
• Between 7 October 2023 and 26 August 2024, 622 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. Among them, 136 Palestinians have been killed and 41 injured in 49 airstrikes, with 135 of the fatalities occurring in the northern governorates (60 Tulkarm, 51 Jenin, 13 Nablus and four in Tubas). In comparison, between 2020 and October 2023, six Palestinians were killed in airstrikes, all in 2023. Of the total 622 Palestinian killed in West Bank since 7 October, 602 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, 11 by Israeli settlers, and 7 where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 15 Israelis, including 9 members of Israeli forces and 5 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 10 Israelis and seven Palestinian perpetrators. 
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 31 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in 1 fatality and 11 injuries, and damage to property. Palestinians perpetrated one attack against settlers in this period, with no injuries reported. Between 7 October 2023 and 26 August 2024, OCHA recorded about 1,270 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which over 120 led to Palestinian fatalities and injuries, about 1,030 led to damage to Palestinian property, and over 130 led to both casualties and property damage.     
  • On 20 August, Israeli settlers believed to be from Rosh Ha’Ayin settlement set fire to and burned an agricultural structure in the village of Az Zawiya, west of Salfit. According to the municipality and the affected farmer, a group of Israeli settlers burned a large agricultural room; destroying equipment, water tanks, crops and twenty-five chickens. Two days prior to this attack, Israeli settlers wrote threatening messages on the structure.  
  • On 23 August, Israeli forces physically assaulted and injured two Palestinian men near the Al 'Auja in Jericho governorate. According to local community sources, a group of armed Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, attacked two Palestinians who were picnicking in the area. The Israeli settlers fired live ammunition at the men's vehicle, damaging the tires, and stole the license plate. Israeli forces then arrested the two men and detained them at a military base in Jericho where they were physically assaulted and injured before being transported to Jericho Hospital for medical treatment. 
  • On 25 August, Israeli settlers injured four Palestinians and displaced two Palestinian families, comprising 19 members including five children from Al Buwieb village, Hebron governorate. An armed Israeli settler and his sheep entered the community and attempted to steal livestock from two Palestinian families. The men of the families stopped the settler and forced him out of the area, after which he returned with a group of ten armed settlers who attacked the families with stones, sticks, and knives. Other Palestinians arrived and threw stones at the settlers. Three Israeli settlers were injured from Palestinian stone throwing. The incident occurred in the presence of Israeli forces, who detained members of the Palestinian families who were under attack. While they were detained, the settlers stole farming material, an electric generator, a fridge used to store milk products, and the families’ belongings. The two families were part of a group of four families who had previously been displaced from Al Buwieb and relocated to Masafer Bani Na’im after 7 October 2023. They returned three months ago but have now been displaced for a second time.  
  • On 26 August 2024, Israeli settlers in military reservist unit, shot and killed a Palestinian man with East-Jerusalem residency and injured three others in Wadi Rahhal, near Bethlehem. According to Israeli media, an initial investigation by the Israeli military claims that the settler unit acted against military protocols and left their designated area to attack this community. Allegedly, they were responding to incidents of stone throwing between settlers and Palestinians in the area. The injured Palestinians were taken to the hospital for treatment. 
• During the reporting period, at least two Palestinian households comprising at least 19 people, including five children, were displaced due to Israeli settler violence and harassment, and the takeover of Palestinian property. Since 7 October 2023, 261 Palestinians households comprising 1,566 people, including 758 children, have been displaced in the context of incidents related to Israeli settlers. 
• Between 20 and 26 August, Israeli authorities and military demolished or forced the demolition of 30 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and East Jerusalem (17 structures) as well as in areas A and B (13 structures) of the West Bank. Of the total 30 structures, some 17 structures were destroyed during an Israeli forces’ operation, and the remaining 13 were demolished due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. As a result, 111 Palestinians, including 34 children, were displaced and another 35, including 9 children, were otherwise affected.  
• On 20 August, Israeli Civil Administration along with Israeli forces demolished two inhabited residential building and a water cistern in Khirbet ad Deir in Tuqu', Bethlehem governorate. The incident took place in Area C for lacking an Israeli-issued building permit. As a result, two families comprising 11 people, including 6 children, were displaced. Most of belongings of the displaced families were lost under the rubble. The case was pending in court and was rejected this year. 
• On 22 August, Israeli Civil Administration along with Israeli forces demolished a residential house in Kharbatha Al Misbah, Ramallah. As a result, two households of seven Palestinian, including three children, were displaced. The destroyed structure included a basement with a water cistern and most of the personal belongings were buried under the rubbles. According to the affected families, the first Israeli demolition order was issued against the house in 2021, the family directly appointed a lawyer to follow up the case and started the permit process and all documents were submitted to the Israeli Civil Administration, however it did not prevent the demolition from proceeding. 
• Between 7 October 2023 and 26 August 2024, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced the demolition of 1,446 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing more than 3,300 Palestinians, including about 1,430 children, which is more than double the number when compared with the same period before 7 October, where 1,339 Palestinians were displaced, including 626 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 28 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.