Humanitarian Situation Update #228 | West Bank

As of 4 October, the Humanitarian Situation Update is issued by OCHA Occupied Palestinian Territory twice a week. The Gaza Strip is covered on Tuesdays and the West Bank on Thursdays. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update continues to be issued every other Wednesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update will be issued on 15 October.

Key Highlights

• Israeli forces kill 24 Palestinians across the West Bank, including 18 in an airstrike on Tulkarm refugee camp that marked the single, deadliest incident in the West Bank since OCHA began systematically documenting casualties in 2005.
• Access of nearly 92,000 people to clean water, wastewater management and solid waste disposal has been compromised due to infrastructural damage during operations by Israeli forces since 7 October 2023; limited response capacity could heighten the risk of flooding in winter and pose severe public health risks, the WASH Cluster reports.
• So far in 2024, three Palestinians have been killed after being severely assaulted by Israeli forces, including a 66-year-old man during the reporting period, compared with five such cases in the last two decades.
• The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory led a diplomatic visit to Kifl Haris (Salfit) on the occasion of the start of the 2024 olive harvest season to highlight access challenges and mitigation efforts.

Latest Developments (after 7 October)

• On 8 and 9 October, five Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, one in Aqqaba village (Tubas) and four in an undercover operation in Nablus city.

Humanitarian Developments (1-7 October)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 24 Palestinians, including four children, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In addition, 130 Palestinians, including at least 16 children and six paramedics, were injured: 93 by Israeli forces and 37 by Israeli settlers. In Israel, six Israelis and one foreign national were killed by two Palestinians from the West Bank, one of whom was also killed. Of note, 37 per cent of injuries during the reporting period were due to physical assault by Israeli forces. Injuries due to physical assaults that required medical intervention, and include severe cases such as broken bones, rose four-fold after 7 October to nearly 800 cases to date compared with about 200 cases in the preceding year.
• The incidents resulting in fatalities during the reporting period are as follows:
  • On 1 October, undercover Israeli forces raided Balata refugee camp (Nablus), where an exchange of fire ensued between Israeli forces and Palestinians. Israel forces shot and killed a 24-year-old man and injured six paramedics by live ammunition. According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), one ambulance sustained damage, its crews were fired on, and they were prevented from evacuating the injured for more than one hour. At least 3,500 pupils and over 50 UNRWA staff members were trapped for two hours inside their schools, clinics, and offices during the operation.
  • On 1 October, six Israelis and one foreign national, including a 17-year-old girl and two women, were killed and 16 others were injured in a stabbing and shooting attack carried out by two Palestinian men from Hebron city, one of whom was killed and the other was injured and arrested. Israeli forces subsequently closed the entry and exit points of Hebron city for three days.
  • Two Palestinians were pronounced dead while in Israeli custody, after being critically injured and, subsequently, arrested by Israeli forces. One was injured in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces in the Old City of Nablus on 1 October, and one was injured by Israeli forces after they surrounded his home in Wadi al Far’a (Tubas) on 5 October. In the Old City of Nablus, according to PRCS, their paramedics were not permitted to provide emergency care to the wounded man when he was arrested.
  • On 3 October, 18 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the densely populated Tulkarm refugee camp (Tulkarm). Fatalities included a family of four, including two children, who lived in the targeted building, another child, and three women. The airstrike caused significant destruction as at least one missile penetrated the rooftop of a multi-storey building and exploded in a crowded ground-floor café. Four refugee households comprising 18 people, including nine children, were displaced. According to the Israeli military, fighter jets targeted the head of an armed group in Tulkarm, killing him and six other key operatives. This was the deadliest single incident in the West Bank since OCHA began systematically documenting casualties in 2005, with the second deadliest incident taking place also in 2024, when 14 Palestinians were killed during a 55-hour operation in Nur Sham refugee camp (Tulkarm). On 4 October, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) noted that this “strike is part of a highly concerning pattern of unlawful use of force by… [Israeli forces] during military-like operations in the West Bank that have caused widespread harm to Palestinians and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure,” adding that “[such] incidents cannot become normalized as an acceptable method of law enforcement.”
  • On 7 October, a 66-year-old Palestinian man was killed after he was physically assaulted by Israeli forces inside his home during a search-and-arrest operation in Dura (Hebron). So far in 2024, three Palestinians have been killed after being severely assaulted by Israeli forces compared with five such cases in the last two decades.
  • On 7 October, Israeli forces killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy and injured 18 others, including at least nine children, during a 13-hour operation in Qalandia refugee camp (Jerusalem). During the operation, Israeli forces positioned snipers on rooftops, physically assaulted and detained 24 Palestinians, raided and caused damage to several homes, and engaged in an exchange of fire with Palestinians.
  • On 3 October, Israeli forces shot and killed a 23-year-old Palestinian man, allegedly for carrying a knife near an army base south of Hebron city. At the scene, Israeli forces reportedly detained three Palestinian journalists and deleted their footage before releasing them.
• In addition to becoming a leading cause of displacement in the West Bank (please see below), recurrent operations by Israeli forces since 7 October 2023, particularly in refugee camps in the northern West Bank, have caused massive infrastructural damage. According to the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) cluster, operations by Israeli forces have entailed frequent bulldozing that caused damage to water connections, manholes, water tanks and hygiene facilities, led to sewage flooding in public spaces, and interrupted solid waste collection. Overall, these operations have resulted in the destruction of more than 20,000 metres of water pipelines, sewer networks and stormwater drainage systems, straining the response capacity of UNRWA, local service providers and WASH cluster partners. As a result, the access of nearly 92,000 people to clean drinking water, wastewater management and solid waste disposal has been compromised, including thousands who have been left with no reliable access to water and sanitation services. Emergency interventions by WASH cluster partners, such as water trucking and distributions of hygiene kits, storage tanks and temporary water points, have addressed immediate needs, but significant gaps remain particularly vis-à-vis repairing the extensive damage to water and wastewater systems. With winter approaching, the WASH Cluster and UNRWA are calling for immediate support to protect infrastructure and restore civilians’ access to essential services. The WASH cluster has prepared water, sanitation, solid waste and flood response emergency plans that require an estimated US$1.8 million, warning that limited response capacity could heighten the risk of flooding and stormwater contamination and pose severe public health risks, including increased exposure to waterborne diseases.
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 23 attacks against Palestinians, resulting in the injury of 37 Palestinians, including two children, and damage to property. About 12 of these incidents took place within the context of the olive harvest season, which resulted in the injury of 32 Palestinians and vandalism of at least 80 olive trees. Key incidents during this period include:
  • On 5 October, some 40 Israeli settlers, believed to be from "Avichai Farm" settlement outpost, carrying guns, metal sticks, knives and pepper spray, attacked about 15 Palestinian families while they were picking olives in different locations on the outskirts of Al Lubban al Gharbi village (Ramallah). As a result, 20 Palestinians, including a child, two women, a man with a disability and two elderly people, sustained bruises and limb fractures. Settlers also damaged at least five Palestinian-owned vehicles, stole agricultural tools and a mobile phone. Israeli forces intervened and shot sound grenades and live bullets. According to the Israeli media, three settlers were reportedly injured in unclear circumstances during the incident.
  • On 5 October, Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian house in Burqa village (Ramallah) and stole a donkey. When the family tried to retrieve the donkey, Israeli settlers shot live ammunition at them, injuring one man in the leg.
  • On 7 October, eight Palestinians, including two women and a child, sustained injuries in the head, one of whom remains in critical condition with a life-threatening head injury, when they were attacked by settlers with guns, hands, legs, and sticks, while they were harvesting olive trees in Jamma'in village, south of Nablus. According to one of the injured, settlers launched a sudden attack while they were harvesting their olives, and started to physically assault his mother, injuring her in the head, before severely beating his father, who sustained a skull fracture. When he attempted to help his parents and his 11-year-old brother, he was also beaten, and one of the settlers sprayed pepper spray into his eyes.
• During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of nine Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including one within the context of an airstrike on Tulkarm refugee camp (see above). As a result, 19 people, including nine children, were displaced. In one of the incidents, Israeli forces demolished a 500-metre paved road due to the lack of an Israeli-issued building permit, hindering the access of about 20 families (approximately 100 people, including 43 children) in Wadi al Amayer herding community to services in As Samu’ town (Hebron).

2024 Olive Harvest Season

• Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have almost completely blocked Palestinian access to their farmlands behind the Barrier and near Israeli settlements. In September, HaMoked, an Israeli NGO, petitioned the High Court of Justice to revoke these sweeping restrictions, but the State’s response indicated that limited gate openings may occur only after 23 October, subject to security assessments, and permits will only be issued on an individual basis. This is anticipated to further complicate the access of thousands of Palestinians to their land, potentially causing significant economic losses. In 2021, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, the agricultural sector produced approximately 108,000 tons of olives and 23,000 tons of olive oil. For the 2024 season, the MoA forecasts a decline in olive and olive oil production, to 81,200 tons and 17,700 tons, respectively.
• On 9 October, the Humanitarian Coordinator, Muhannad Hadi, together with humanitarian and development partners, led a field visit to Kifl Haris (Salfit) with diplomats from eight member states to hear first-hand from Palestinian farmers about their challenges in accessing farmlands, especially during the olive harvest season. This advocacy initiative is part of the Humanitarian Country Team’s (HCT) coordinated campaign around the season, where the ability of farmers to harvest is compromised, mainly due to Israeli-imposed access restrictions, and attacks by Israeli settlers and Israeli forces.

Key Figures, 7 October 2023 – 7 October 2024

• In total, 719 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 702 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, 12 by Israeli settlers, and seven where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. During the same period, 23 Israelis, including 16 members of Israeli forces and six 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 16 Israelis and eight Palestinian perpetrators.
• OCHA documented about 1,454 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 144 led to Palestinian casualties, 1,158 led to damage to Palestinian property, and 152 led to both casualties and property damage. Since 7 October 2023, 277 Palestinians households comprising 1,628 people, including 794 children, have been displaced in Bedouin and herding communities across the West Bank, primarily citing attacks by Israeli settlers and impeded access to grazing lands by settlers.
• Israeli authorities destroyed, confiscated, sealed or forced the demolition of 1,777 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing more than 4,574 Palestinians, including about 1,919 children. These include more than 2,800 Palestinians, including over 1,100 children, who were displaced due to the destruction of homes during operations by Israeli forces.
• For additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2023 and September 2024, please refer to the OCHA West Bank snapshot.

Funding

• As of 10 October, Member States have disbursed about $1.73 billion out of $3.42 billion (51 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 September 2024, the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund (OPT HF) managed 87 ongoing projects, totaling $77.5 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (90 per cent) and the West Bank (10 per cent). They were strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition. Of these projects, 48 projects are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations, 27 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 31 out of the 60 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. Monthly updates, annual reports, and a list of all funded projects per year, are available on the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage, under the financing section.