Humanitarian Situation Update #250 | West Bank

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 is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update will be issued on 31 December.

Key Highlights

• Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians in the West Bank, including at least 12 in airstrikes, in the last 10 days (17-26 December), and caused extensive infrastructural damage in Tulkarm’s refugee camps.
• Since the beginning of the operation by Palestinian forces in Jenin refugee camp on 5 December, eight Palestinians were killed, including four unarmed Palestinians, three members of Palestinian forces and one armed Palestinian. For the past 20 days, access to basic services, including education, water and health, has been severely disrupted.
• Israeli forces killed three Palestinians attempting to cross through informal openings in the West Bank Barrier, reportedly to access workplaces in Israel, out of a total of ten killed in similar circumstances since 7 October 2023, amid rising unemployment in the West Bank.

Latest Developments (after 23 December)

• On 24 and 25 December, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, including two women, during a 40-hour operation in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps. The operation involved drone strikes and bulldozing roads, resulting in extensive infrastructural damage, including to water, sewage, and electricity networks.
• On 25 December, initial reports indicate that Israeli forces targeted a house in Qaffin town (Tulkarm) with a shoulder-fired explosive projectile, killing one Palestinian.
• On 25 December, initial reports indicate that a Palestinian child died of wounds sustained the night before by an Israeli airstrike on Tammun town (Tubas).
• Initial reports indicate that, on 24 December, one unarmed Palestinian was killed by Palestinian forces in Jenin refugee camp and, on 25 December, one member of Palestinian forces died of wounds sustained on 22 December while dismantling an improvised explosive device (IED) in the camp.

Humanitarian Developments (17-23 December)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed ten Palestinians, including one woman, and injured 36 others, including ten children and one woman, across the West Bank. Three Palestinians, including a child and two members of the Palestinian forces, were killed in Jenin refugee camp within the context of the ongoing operation by Palestinian forces. For more information on casualties and further breakdowns of data, please see the monthly West Bank Snapshot. All the incidents resulting in fatalities and other key incidents are as follows:
  • On 18 December, a Palestinian man died of wounds sustained the previous day during an Israeli operation in Qusra village (Nablus). According to local sources, during the operation, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces who opened fire as well as fired sound grenades and tear gas canisters. The man, who was reportedly standing on the roof of his house, was injured with live ammunition and three children were also injured: a two-month-old baby girl and a two-year-old baby boy suffered from tear gas inhalation that required medical intervention, and a 15-year-old boy sustained bruises after he was physically assaulted by Israeli forces. 
  • On 19 December, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians and injured at least four others in Balata refugee camp. Fatalities included a man who was shot in the head while walking in front of his house, as shown in CCTV footage and reported by human rights organizations, and an 80-year-old woman with a hearing disability. Israeli undercover units initially entered the camp in a civilian vehicle and, when their presence was known, they and Palestinians exchanged fire, with the latter reportedly using explosive devices. UNRWA field office staff and over 3,000 pupils in four schools were trapped on the premises for approximately three hours.
  • On 19 December, an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in Tulkarm refugee camp, killing four Palestinians and injuring three children by shrapnel. Following the airstrike, Israeli forces raided Tulkarm city and camp and bulldozed sections of the main road, causing damage to water and sewage networks.
  • On 21 December, a six-year-old Palestinian child was killed by unexploded ordinance near Arab Ar Rashiyda Al Barriya in Bethlehem, in an area that had been declared a ‘firing zone’ for military training by Israeli forces. The boy was accompanying his father while herding sheep at the time of the incident.
  • In two incidents, Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian men for attempting to cross through informal openings in the West Bank Barrier, reportedly to reach workplaces in Israel. Two of them were killed on 17 December, east of Qalqilya city, and Israeli forces handed over their bodies to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) at Zufim Checkpoint. The third was killed on 21 December, when Israeli forces opened fire toward a group of Palestinian workers near the Barrier, close to Faqqu’a village (Jenin); the man later handed over to the PRCS by Israeli forces.
  • On 22 December, a member of Palestinian forces was killed while dismantling an IED in Jenin refugee camp. Another member of Palestinian forces, who was injured in the same incident, succumbed to his wounds on 25 December (see latest developments above). On 23 December, a member of Palestinian forces was killed by live ammunition fired by armed Palestinians in the camp, and, on the same day, a 16-year Palestinian boy was shot and killed in unclear circumstances and where it remains unknown whether he was killed by armed Palestinians or Palestinian forces.
• Since 5 December, Palestinian forces have been carrying out an operation in Jenin refugee camp, during which they have arrested at least 60 Palestinians, exchanged fire with armed Palestinians, and closed off the camp’s entrances. In total, eight Palestinians were killed: four unarmed Palestinians including two children, of whom three were killed by Palestinian forces and one by either armed Palestinians or Palestinian forces; three members of Palestinian forces were killed, including two while dismantling an IED and one by armed Palestinians; and one armed Palestinian was killed by Palestinian forces. For 20 days, UNRWA has been suspending its services in the camp, including at four schools serving about 1,700 students. On 20 December, UNRWA called for respect for the inviolability of its facilities, protected under international law, after becoming aware that armed Palestinians were occupying its health centre in the camp. According to UNRWA, it has been unable to access the camp due to the security situation and has no control over the health centre or its use. On 23 December, armed Palestinians* reportedly vacated the health centre after five days. Jenin city and its camp have reportedly been on a general strike, and about 12,000 residents in the camp have had limited access to water and electricity. The rehabilitation of water networks, which were significantly damaged by previous Israeli military operations, has been on hold, affecting access to water for over 60 per cent of the camp's population while several generators have reportedly been hit, causing intermittent electricity and communication outages in multiple neighbourhoods inside the camp.
• Since 7 October 2023, a total of ten Palestinians, including three during the reporting period (see above), were killed and 78 were injured while trying to cross through informal openings in the West Bank Barrier, amid rising unemployment in the West Bank as highlighted by UNCTAD and ILO. In comparison, 15 Palestinians were injured within this context in the first nine months of 2023 and there were no fatalities. In September 2024, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), highlighted a "rapid and alarming economic decline" in the West Bank since October 2023. Key drivers include the expansion of Israeli settlements, land confiscations, demolition of Palestinian structures, and increased settler violence. These factors have severely disrupted economic activities, displaced communities, and undermined critical sectors such as commerce, tourism, and transportation across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The International Labour Organization (ILO), in its October brief, similarly noted that “the labour market has borne the brunt of the war, with the unemployment rate in the OPT surging to 51.1 per cent, reaching 34.9 per cent in the West Bank and 79.7 per cent in the Gaza Strip.” Compounding this economic distress, since October 2023, Israeli authorities have revoked or suspended most permits previously issued to Palestinians for work in Israel and its settlements, including over 800 permits for nationally recruited humanitarian workers.
• During the reporting period, OCHA documented ten incidents perpetrated by Israeli settlers that led to damage of Palestinian property. These include three incidents of stone throwing at Palestinian vehicles travelling on roads 60 and 578 in Ramallah, Nablus and Tubas governorates, causing damage to at least four vehicles. On three occasions, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli settler vehicles travelling on roads 437 and 446 in Jerusalem and Ramallah governorates, causing damage to at least two vehicles. Key incidents during the reporting period include:
  • On 20 December, three armed and masked Israeli settlers, believed to be from Tappuah settlement, broke into a mosque in Marda village, north of Salfit city, threw flammable materials inside, and wrote racist graffiti on the walls. Residents found the mosque on fire when they went to perform dawn prayers and began putting out the fire. This is the third mosque to be attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank in 2024; in January and February 2024, Israeli settlers opened fire toward mosques in Jalud and Naqura villages (Nablus), causing injury to one Palestinian and damage.
  • 20 December 2024, a group of armed Israeli settlers raided Palestinian land in Area C in Adh Dhahiriya (Hebron) and vandalized a residential structure that was in its final stages of construction and was provided by an international NGO in response to a previous demolition carried out by the Israeli Civil Administration on 6 June 2024. The settlers damaged windows, external walls, and three water tanks.
  • On 21 December 2024, Israeli settlers attacked the outskirts of Burqa village (Ramallah), destroying a residential unit and an agricultural tent. During the attack, Israeli settlers attempted to take over a livestock tent and a scuffle ensued with Palestinian residents. Israeli settlers subsequently vandalized a Palestinian house located near a new settlement outpost in the area, reportedly established on 16 December, damaging windows, a kitchen, a bathroom, and furniture.
• During the reporting period, OCHA documented the demolition of 15 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including five in East Jerusalem and 10 in Area C, due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain. As a result, 22 people, including six children, were displaced and over 500 people were otherwise affected. Moreover, not reported previously, on 16 December, the Israeli authorities demolished seven commercial structures, including six shops and one big commercial centre comprising 26 shops, in Area C of Adh Dhahiriya town (Hebron) for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, affecting the livelihoods of 25 families comprising 178 people, including 101 children. Demolished structures included a wide range of shops and businesses, such as restaurants, vegetables and fruit shops, bakeries, a coffee shop, and a carpenter workshop, among others. Moreover, several water tanks were destroyed and some of the goods and equipment in the shops were damaged.

Funding

• As of 26 December, Member States have disbursed about US$2.53 billion out of the $3.42 billion (74 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.) 
• On 11 December 2024, the UN and humanitarian partners launched a Flash Appeal for nearly $4.07 billion to address the humanitarian needs of three million out of 3.3 million people identified as requiring assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2025. Nearly 90 per cent of those funds are for the humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 10 per cent for the West Bank. The $4.07 billion ask is much less than what is actually needed to mount a full-scale humanitarian response, which would require $6.6 billion. However, the Flash Appeal reflects the expectation that aid organizations will continue to face unacceptable constraints on their operations in 2025. This will severely limit the amount of assistance that humanitarians are able to provide, which in turn will only increase the suffering that Palestinians are enduring. The appeal stresses that, to be able to implement the full scale of what is urgently needed, Israel must take immediate and effective measures to ensure the essential needs of civilians are met. This includes lifting all impediments to aid and fully facilitating humanitarian operations, including the distribution of essential goods to Palestinians in need.  
• During November, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 124 ongoing projects, totalling $91.7 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent) and are 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, 70 are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 40 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 50 out of the 84 projects conducted 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.

* Asterisks indicate that a figure, sentence, or section has been rectified, added, or retracted after the initial publication of this update.