Humanitarian Situation Update #260 | 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 4 February.

Key Highlights

• Since the beginning of 2025, Israeli forces have killed 53 Palestinians, including eight children, in the West Bank. These include 30 Palestinians killed in Jenin governorate.
• Nearly all of Jenin refugee camp’s 20,000 residents have been displaced over the past two months and an estimated 150-180 homes have sustained severe damage.
• Israeli forces’ operations have become a primary cause of displacement in the West Bank, accounting for 42 per cent of all displacement documented by OCHA between January 2023 and December 2024, compared with less than two per cent in the two years prior.
• Access restrictions have intensified, with prolonged delays at checkpoints, at least 12 new road gates installed by Israeli forces at the entrances of towns and villages across the West Bank and new roadblocks and earthmounds placed on secondary access routes.

Latest Developments (after 27 January 2025)

• On 28 and 29 January, initial reports indicate that 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, including one in Jenin city, one in Tulkarm city and 10 in Tammun town in Tubas. Since 27 January, the Israeli forces’ operation in Tulkarm has caused infrastructure damage, disrupting access to water and electricity, and has resulted in the displacement of nearly 1,000 people according to initial estimates. According to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), “several Palestinian families were already forced to leave their homes by the Israeli military for the duration of the operation, despite the fact they have nowhere to go in the middle of the winter.”
• On 30 January, initial reports by the Israeli military indicate that one Israeli soldier was killed and another injured during an operation in Jenin governorate.

Humanitarian Developments (21-27 January 2025)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed 20 Palestinians, including two children, and injured 81 others, including 11 children, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Four Israeli soldiers were injured during operations in Jenin. For more information on casualties and further breakdowns of data, please see the monthly West Bank Snapshot. Incidents resulting in fatalities during the reporting period include:
  • On 21 January, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians, including a 17-year-old child, in Ti'innik village, north of Jenin.
  • On 22 January, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in an exchange of fire in the village of Birqin, west of Jenin. Israeli forces surrounded one house and demanding that occupants turn themselves in, after which an exchange of fire between two Palestinians and Israeli forces ensued. In addition, Israeli forces conducted air and ground strikes, demolished the house with a bulldozer, and shot and injured the owner of the building, a 60-year-old man.
  • On 24 January, an Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Qabatiya town, south of Jenin city, and caused damage to at least one residential building and several cars.
  • On 25 January, Israeli forces shot and killed a two-year-old Palestinian baby in Ash Shuhada village, south of Jenin city. Undercover Israeli forces raided the village, followed by military reinforcements, and exchanged fire with armed Palestinians. The girl and her mother were struck while taking shelter inside a relative's house. The mother was wounded by live ammunition shrapnel in the head and hand. According to the Ash Shuhada village council, Israeli forces detained dozens of Palestinian men and women, interrogating them separately in two locations. The operation lasted about three hours.
  • On 25 January, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian in Balata refugee camp, Nablus. The fatality occurred when Israeli forces raided the camp while residents were celebrating the release of a Palestinian detainee under the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The forces fired tear gas canisters at the crowds, and, subsequently, live ammunition. Video footage shows a Palestinian shopkeeper hit and killed while attempting to close his shop.
  • On 26 January, Israeli forces shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian and injured two children near Qalandiya checkpoint, north of Jerusalem. According to eyewitnesses, Palestinians threw stones and shot fireworks towards soldiers in a military tower, and the latter fired live ammunition at them.
• During the reporting period, OCHA documented 17 incidents involving Israeli settlers that led to casualties, property damage or both. As a result, nine Palestinians were injured, and eight vehicles and over 120 trees, mostly olive, were damaged. During the same period, one Israeli settler was injured while driving in Ramallah governorate due to stone throwing believed to be by Palestinians. The following are some of the key settler attacks that took place during the reporting period:
  • On 22 January, armed Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured five Palestinians while they were grazing their sheep on land belonging to residents from Qawawis community, in Hebron governorate. After raiding the community and throwing stones at homes, Israeli settlers engaged in scuffles with Palestinians and reportedly used pepper spray and iron rods. Israeli forces subsequently arrived at the scene and dispersed the settlers.
  • On 26 January, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian man in his house in ‘Ein al Hilwa – Um al Jmal herding community, in Tubas in the northern Jordan Valley. According to the injured man, masked Israeli settlers broke into his house and physically assaulted him with bats. Palestinians in the community called an ambulance, which transported him to the hospital.
  • On 27 January, Israeli settlers believed to be from outposts near Ras 'Ein al 'Auja Bedouin community, in Jericho governorate, broke into the community and grazed their livestock between houses. According to residents, Israeli settlers have been raiding their community daily, often for extended hours, whereby settlers attempt to mix their livestock with those owned by families in the community and then claim ownership. Additionally, settlers have been regularly harassing Palestinians at the community’s water spring, reportedly chasing them with vehicles and threatening to ram anyone approaching the spring.
• During the reporting period, OCHA documented the demolition of nine Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. These included four structures demolished in East Jerusalem and five in Area C, resulting in the displacement of 11 people, including five children. Over 30 people, including 13 children, were otherwise affected. In East Jerusalem, a family of four, including two children, was displaced after being forced to demolish its residence by Israeli authorities. In Furush Beit Dajan, in Nablus governorate, Israeli forces demolished one residential and four other structures, displacing two families of seven people, including two children.
• On 26 January, the Jerusalem Municipality issued 32 stop work orders on all homes and other structures in Khallet an Nu’man village, in Bethlehem governorate. The village is located within the Israeli-defined East Jerusalem boundaries, but its residents continued to hold West Bank identification cards and have been unable to freely access other parts of East Jerusalem. Concurrently, the construction of the Barrier has physically separated the village from service centres in other parts of the West Bank, which residents can only access via Mazmouriya checkpoint. The orders affect 42 homes, where the village’s 150 residents reside. According to the village council, not a single construction activity has taken place in the village since the erection of the Barrier, and they are unable to transport construction materials from the West Bank side of the Barrier through the checkpoint.

Developments in Jenin

• On 21 January, Israeli forces launched an operation in Jenin involving ground forces, helicopter gunfire and airstrikes. The ongoing operation in Jenin city and its refugee camp has resulted in 17 fatalities, widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure, and forced displacement. The operation expanded to nearby villages and towns and, since 27 January, extended to Tulkarm city and its two refugee camps. Jenin Municipality reports that nearly three kilometres of roads inside and near the camp have also been bulldozed by Israeli forces, including those leading to Jenin Hospital, causing damage to critical water and sewage infrastructure as well as telecommunication networks.
• Operations in Jenin refugee camp over the past two months have caused widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure. Some 150 -180 houses in Jenin camp have so far sustained severe damage, including about 120 houses during the ongoing operation by Israeli forces and 50 during the operation by Palestinian forces. Moreover, access to Jenin camp has been heavily restricted by both Palestinian and Israeli forces, exacerbating humanitarian conditions. UNRWA has been forced to suspend schools and health services. Solid waste collection and management efforts have been similarly suspended, leading to waste accumulation and worsening hygiene conditions in the camp.
• According to UNRWA, nearly all of Jenin refugee camp’s 20,000 residents have been displaced. More than 3,200 families have been displaced, UNRWA estimates, including 2,000 families displaced to Jenin city and surrounding villages during the Palestinian forces operation that began in early December. Nearly 2,600 families have sought shelter in Jenin city, with the remaining families scattered across 17 villages and towns in the governorate, mainly staying with relatives or renting temporary accommodation. At least 100 families have been sheltering in buildings belonging to charitable and other local institutions in Jenin city.
• Between January 2023 and December 2024, Jenin governorate was among the areas most affected by displacement in the West Bank, recording the second-highest number of people displaced (1,500 people). Tulkarm governorate saw the highest level of displacement, with approximately 2,050 Palestinians displaced due to extensive destruction of homes caused by Israel forces’ operations. During the same period, more than 3,600 Palestinians, including over 1,400 children, were displaced across the West Bank due to home demolitions within the course of Israeli forces’ operations. As such, these operations have become a primary cause of displacement in the West Bank, accounting for 42 per cent of all displacement documented by OCHA between January 2023 and December 2024. This is a sharp increase compared to the two years prior (January 2021 to December 2022), when displacement during Israeli forces’ operations accounted for less than two per cent of total displacement.

Access and Movement Restrictions

• Since mid-January, Israeli forces have intensified access restrictions across the West Bank, impeding Palestinians’ access to basic services and workplaces. Restrictions have entailed prolonged delays at checkpoints, the installation of at least 12 new gates at the entrances of towns and villages as well as placing new roadblocks and earthmounds on secondary access routes.  In a statement issued on 28 January, OHCHR said that “suffocating restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement across the West Bank …[have been] practically tearing communities apart and largely paralyzing daily life.” Below are key examples of developments that have aggravated the movement of Palestinians across the West Bank:
  • In the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city, Israeli forces closed As Salaymeh checkpoint (Checkpoint 160) for five days, restricting access for approximately 2,500 Palestinian residents, who were forced to take a longer detour to reach their homes.
  • In Jericho governorate, three road gates were installed and closed in Al 'Auja town as well as Ras Ein al 'Auja and An Nuwei'ma Al Fauqa Bedouin communities, cutting access to main roads and a water spring.
  • In Jerusalem governorate, on 22 and 25 January, Israeli forces repeatedly closed Qalandiya and Jaba’ checkpoints, two major checkpoints connecting the central West Bank with both East Jerusalem and the southern West Bank. These closures severely disrupted the movement of tens of thousands of Palestinians, with some stranded for hours before managing to cross.
  • In Nablus governorate, Israeli forces blocked four secondary routes in Zawata village and three in Deir Sharaf village with earth mounds. Two road gates were also installed at Awarta’s northern entrance, significantly limiting movement towards Jenin and Tulkarm.

Funding

• As of 30 January 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$145.6 million out of the $4.07 billion (3.6 per cent) requested to meet the most critical 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 under the 2025 Flash Appeal for the OPT. Nearly 90 per cent of the requested funds are for the humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 10 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during December 2024, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 111 ongoing projects, totalling $82.2 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (86 per cent) and the West Bank (14 per cent). These include 64 projects implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 13 by UN agencies. Of the 77 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN, 46 are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. For more information, please see OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service webpage and the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage. 

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