Humanitarian Situation Update #266 | 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 25 February.

Key Highlights

• Since the beginning of the Israeli forces’ operation in the northern West Bank on 21 January, 51 Palestinians, including seven children, and three Israeli soldiers were killed in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates.
• Israeli forces’ operations in the northern West Bank have caused severe damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, disrupting access to water to tens of thousands of people and heightening public health concerns.
• Israeli settlers vandalized and cut down about 155 olive and fruit trees in Yasuf village, in Salfit, in one of 34 settler incidents documented by OCHA between 11 and 17 February that resulted in casualties or property damage.
• Nearly 40 Palestinians who rely on herding as a source of income have been displaced near Al Maniya village in Bethlehem due to recurrent attacks by Israeli settlers.
• Some 806,000 students across the West Bank had their access to education severely undermined in 2024, according to a new report by the Education Cluster.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 11 and 17 February, Israeli forces killed six Palestinians, including one child, and injured 18 others, including seven children, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In addition, one Palestinian child died of wounds sustained in an airstrike on 1 February. 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 11 February, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured three others, including a five-year-old girl, during a raid in Sa’ir village north of Hebron city. Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces, who fired live ammunition, rubber coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters.
  • On 12 February, Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinians, including a 16-year-old child, as part of the ongoing Israeli operation in Nur Shams refugee camp, northeast of Tulkarm city. During the ongoing operation, exchanges of fire between Palestinians and Israeli forces were reported inside the camp.
  • On 13 February, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man near Huwwara checkpoint, the southern main entrance to Nablus city, alleging that he had used a road leading up to the checkpoint that was prohibited to Palestinians and attempted to ram his car into Israeli soldiers. No casualties among Israeli forces were reported. The family of the killed man reported that he had been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Israeli forces withheld the body of the killed man.
  • On 14 February, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during a raid in Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus city. Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces, who opened fire toward Palestinians.
  • On 17 February, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy died of wounds sustained on 1 February 2025 in Qabatiya town, south of Jenin, when an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle, killing two Palestinians inside and injuring seven other Palestinians, including the boy and two women.
• Between 11 and 17 February, OCHA documented the demolition of 11 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. These included eight structures in East Jerusalem, and three other structures in Area C, displacing 12 people, including five children, and otherwise affecting over 35 people. All the displaced families were in two Area C communities, in Al 'Arrub refugee camp (Hebron) and Deir Ibzi’ village (Ramallah). In East Jerusalem, a family of two was affected after being forced to demolish its under-construction residence in Wadi Qaddum area in Silwan, after receiving a final demolition order from the Israeli authorities.
• Between 11 and 17 February, OCHA documented 34 incidents involving Israeli settlers that led to casualties, property damage or both. As a result, five Palestinians were injured and about 176 olive and fruit trees and saplings were vandalized. In one incident, Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli-plated bus near Hizma (Jerusalem), causing damage. The following are some of the key settler attacks that took place during the reporting period:
  • On 11 February, Israeli settlers severed pipes connecting 1,500 metres of agricultural water pipes in Area C of An Nazla ash Sharqiya village, in Tulkarm, affecting the livelihoods of 12 Palestinian farmers who depend on the network to irrigate their lands.
  • On 13 February, a group of armed Israeli settlers, believed to be from a newly established settlement outpost near Ma’ale Amos settlement, severed pipes connecting a 450-metre-long water network in Area B of Kisan village, in Bethlehem. The network was donor-funded and was installed with the support of a humanitarian organization to supply water to about 20 families.
  • Between 14 and 17 February, Israeli settlers injured four Palestinians on Palestinian-owned agricultural land in the West Bank. In Mikhmas village, in Jerusalem, two farmers were physically assaulted and injured by a group of armed Israeli settlers who attacked them with clubs and stones and stole personal belongings from inside their vehicle. In Surif village, in Hebron, a group of armed Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured a Palestinian man and damaged a greenhouse planted with seasonal vegetables. In Rantis village, in Ramallah, a group of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian man while he was farming his land, punctured the tyres of his vehicle, and sprayed his face with pepper spray. Israeli settlers subsequently grazed their sheep on the land, causing damage to about 20 olive saplings.
  • On 15 February, a group of Israeli settlers, believed to be from Rechelim settlement, vandalized and cut down about 155 olive and fruit trees located on a nine-dunum piece of land belonging to farmers from Yasuf village, in Salfit. The land is located near the settlement, access to which by the Palestinian owners requires prior coordination with Israeli authorities.
  • On 16 February, Israeli settlers threw stones at a solid waste collection truck belonging to Bethlehem Municipality, in Bethlehem, shattering the windshield and injuring a Palestinian man who was sitting near the driver. The driver rushed the injured man, who sustained an eye injury, to a medical centre. The truck was on its way to transport garbage from Bethlehem city to a dump site located near Al Maniya village.
• On 14 February, seven Palestinian herding households, comprising 39 people, including 17 children, were forcibly displaced from Barriyet Al Minya area, east of Al Manila village in the Bethlehem governorate due to Israeli settler violence. The displacement followed repeated attacks and access restrictions imposed by settlers from a newly established outpost near Bariyat Tuqu’. OCHA recorded 20 incidents by settlers against Palestinians near Al Maniya village, including 16 that resulted in casualties or property damage since January 2024. The last attack occurred on 14 February, when, according to residents, a group of approximately 40 armed settlers raided their dwellings, vandalized structures, using clubs and stones, and fired tear gas canisters at them. In total, 16 Palestinians sustained injuries, including due to physical assault and tear gas inhalation. Of the injured, six people were transported to hospital and 10 received treatment on site by Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics. Israeli settlers also destroyed four residential structures, two solar panel systems, and two water tanks before Israeli forces arrived and evacuated them. The assault lasted for over six hours, forcing residents to flee to find safety along with their livestock while leaving behind all their belongings. Only four families remained in the larger area of the community, struggling to stay despite ongoing violence and deteriorating conditions. Between 1 January 2023 and 17 February 2024, OCHA documented the displacement of 2,278 Palestinians, including 1,085 children, across the West Bank, citing heightened settler violence and access restrictions.
• Herding communities in the northern Jordan Valley are facing increasing restrictions on their ability to access grazing lands due to settler violence, which have further undermined their livelihoods. For example, in Ad Deir community (Tubas), documented settler-related incidents rose from none in 2020- 2021, to one in both 2022 and 2023, and then surged to 14 in 2024. The sharpest increase (eight incidents) was in events involving harassment, intimidation, and access restrictions to grazing areas. Similarly, in Al Farisiya-Nab'a al Ghazal (Tubas), documented settler-related incidents increased from two in 2020, to 12 in 2023, and then to 29 in 2024, with the most significant increase being in incidents involving harassment, intimidation, and access restrictions, which rose from one to 21 incidents. Over the past two years, Bedouin and herding communities, which rely on livestock grazing as their primary source of income, have suffered from a severe reduction in already limited available pastureland. The expansion of settler herding outposts has further restricted access for Palestinian herders, forcing them to graze their animals in increasingly confined areas near their shelters.
• On 15 February, an Israeli military training exercise caused a fire that destroyed a Palestinian-owned agricultural structure in Az Za’ayyem Bedouin community, in Area C of the Jerusalem governorate. Tear gas canisters fired from a nearby Israeli military base landed on agricultural land, setting fire to an uninhabited residential structure and destroying all furniture inside as well as causing damage to ten surrounding trees. Following the incident, Israeli forces arrived at the scene and extinguished the flames. The fire affected one Palestinian household of six people, including two children. According to local community sources, training exercises by Israeli forces at the military base near the community regularly pose risks to residents and property. Situated next to the Israeli E1 settlement plan area, which aims to expand Ma’ale Adumim settlement and connect it to Jerusalem, the community has been subject to various coercive measures, including demolitions and displacement threats. Since 2009, OCHA documented the demolition of 106 structures, including 15 homes, in the community due to the lack of building permits, resulting in the displacement of 122 people, including 77 children.
• In the early morning hours of 12 February, Israeli forces carried out an eight-hour operation in Al ‘Arrub refugee camp, north of Hebron city, raided houses, destroyed the entrance of one house with explosives, and used an UNRWA health centre as a temporary detention site where they interrogated Palestinian residents of the camp. In total, 26 Palestinians were detained, including five elderly persons; 22 were subsequently released and four were taken into custody. According to testimonies provided by some of the released detainees to the local popular committee, Israeli forces reportedly numbered detainees on their foreheads using pens and physically assaulted them. Access to education was also disrupted, affecting about 1,800 school students inside the camp and others who attend educational institutions outside. In a statement, UNRWA said that the use of its health centre as a detention and interrogation centre was “a blatant disregard for the inviolability of United Nations facilities” and “follows a pattern of forcible entries into UNRWA installations in the West Bank since October 2023,” by both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.
• On 18 February, Israeli officials from the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli Ministry of Education approached four UNRWA educational facilities in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces forcibly entered the Kalandia Training Centre (KTC), located immediately adjacent to Qalandia refugee camp on the West Bank side of the Barrier, and attempted to order the immediate evacuation of the KTC without any legal documentation; however, the forces left following discussions with UNRWA officials where United Nations privileges and immunities were invoked. Concurrently, sound bombs and tear gas cannisters were fired in the vicinity of the main street of Qalandiya refugee camp. On the same day, Israeli Ministry of Education officials visited three UNRWA schools in Wadi al Joz, Silwan, and Sur Baher, in East Jerusalem, in one instance accompanied by the Israeli police. They were denied entry, based on United Nations privileges and immunities. Responding to these developments, UNRWA Commissioner General, Philippe Lazzarini, condemned the breach of United Nations premises and called for access to education to be upheld, noting that the incidents have affected about 250 children in three UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem and more than 350 trainees at the KTC. Moreover, in a statement, the Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, emphasized that UNRWA was committed to stay and continue to deliver services in East Jerusalem. These comments were later echoed by the Secretary General of the United Nations. UNRWA runs six schools, two health centres and one vocational training centre in areas that fall with the Israeli-defined East Jerusalem municipal boundary in the West Bank. For more information on UNRWA services in East Jerusalem, please see here.
• Access to education for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in the West Bank was severely undermined by access restrictions, home demolitions, settler violence and Israeli forces’ operations in 2024, according to a recent report by the Education Cluster. In 2024, the Palestinian Ministry of Education recorded 2,274 incidents of violence targeting the education system, with 109 schools attacked or vandalized; incidents include cases of armed settlers entering schools, detention of students or school staff, and harassment of students on their way to school. In affected areas, more than half of the students reported that they had faced delays or harassment on the way to school. As a result, some 806,000 students have had their access to education restricted in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Increasing poverty and food insecurity have also had a severe impact, forcing many families to deprioritize education, as approximately 40 per cent of families report that they cannot afford school-related costs, such as transportation or textbooks. Older children, particularly boys, are often required to work to support their families, contributing to increased dropout rates. At the same time, girls and young women are twice as likely to drop out of school after the age of 12 compared to boys, particularly in rural areas where travel to school entails long or unsafe commutes.
• Since mid-January, Israeli forces have intensified access restrictions across the West Bank, severely impeding Palestinians' access to markets, workplaces, emergency services, as well as health and educational facilities. At least 20 new gates have been installed at the entrances of towns and villages, alongside new roadblocks, earth mounds, and trench fences, further restricting movement on secondary access routes. Below are key examples of developments that have aggravated the movement of Palestinians across the West Bank during the reporting period:
  • In Jerusalem governorate, between 11 and 16 February, Israeli forces repeatedly closed Qalandiya and Jaba’ checkpoints, two major crossings connecting the central West Bank with both East Jerusalem and the southern West Bank, severely disrupting movement for tens of thousands of Palestinians. At Qalandiya checkpoint, forces physically assaulted and arrested three Palestinians, including one with rifles. On 14 February, Israeli forces closed Wadi an Nar checkpoint, which controls all Palestinian traffic between the southern and northern West Bank, for three hours, causing delays of up to eight hours, during which a Palestinian man was physically assaulted and injured by forces.
  • In Jenin governorate, Israeli forces installed a metal road gate on the main road south of Silat adh Dhahr village. If the road gate is closed, this would restrict movement between Jenin, Tulkarm and Nablus governorates, affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
  • In the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city, Israeli forces closed three checkpoints on 12, 16, and 17 February, restricting movement from and to the restricted area of H2 for up to five hours. This has restricted more than 170 students and teachers from reaching Al Ibrahimiya Basic School, forcing classes online.
• On 18 February, the World Bank, European Union, and UN issued findings of the latest Gaza and West Bank Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA), which analyses damages and losses as well as recovery and reconstruction needs across almost all sectors of the Palestinian economy, based on data between October 2023 and October 2024. According to the IRDNA, recurring Israeli military operations, airstrikes, and closures have caused widespread damage and service disruptions across the West Bank, particularly in and around densely populated refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas. Damage to the housing sector in the West Bank alone is estimated at US$16 million. In the health sector, only 61 per cent of facilities in conflict-affected governorates—mainly Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin, and Bethlehem—remain fully functional, further delaying critical health care services. Access to education has also been severely affected, with about 602,000 public school students forced into home-based learning for up to three days a week throughout the 2023-2024 academic year. In a statement, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhanned Hadi, reaffirmed that the “UN stands ready to support the Palestinian people both on humanitarian assistance and a future recovery and reconstruction process.”

Developments in the northern West Bank

• The Israeli operation, which began on 21 January, has become the longest operation in the West Bank since the early 2000s; it has so far lasted for just over a month in Jenin governorate, primarily in Jenin refugee camp and its surroundings, and for 24 days in Tulkarm city and its two refugee camps (Tulkarm and Nur Shams). In Tubas governorate, the operation lasted for about a week and 10 days in Tammun town and El Fara’a refugee camp, respectively, between 2 and 12 February. Since 21 January and as of 20 February, at least 51 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates, including seven children (6 boys and 1 girl) and two women. Three Israeli soldiers were killed by armed Palestinians, including one during an exchange of fire in Jenin and two due to a shooting attack by an armed Palestinian at Tayasir checkpoint, in Tubas. Palestinian fatalities include three Palestinians killed in El Fara’a refugee camp on 19 February, when undercover Israeli forces surrounded a residential building in the camp and fired a shoulder-fired explosive projectile at it, according to initial information.
• This week, Israeli forces notified the Palestinian District Liaison Office that two structures in Jenin—one in the camp and one in the city—and 14 residential structures in Tulkarm refugee camp are slated for demolition. In Jenin refugee camp, residents were granted a two-hour window on 19 February, from 12:00 to 14:00, to retrieve their belongings. During this time, a 50-year-old woman was critically injured after reportedly using a route outside the pre-defined paths set by Israeli forces. In Tulkarm refugee camp, residents of the 14 homes set for demolition were similarly given a two-hour window, from 6:00 to 8:00 in the morning on 19 February, to collect their essentials. Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) teams assisted 14 families in moving their belongings, after they were allowed by Israeli forces to enter the camp; however, Israeli forces opened fire and fired smoke grenades at them. Initial reports suggest that at least nine structures were demolished by Israeli forces on 18 and 19 February.
• While the majority of displaced families are staying in rented accommodation, they are increasingly unable to afford the prohibitively high rent costs. As of 20 February, about 60 families, comprising about 300 people, are currently staying in six public shelters in Tulkarm and about 44 families, comprising 173 people, are staying in four public shelters in Jenin, with plans underway to set up two public shelters at two schools in Jenin to address the rising need. A multisectoral assessment conducted in early February across two collective centers and five apartments highlighted the urgent need for non-food items (NFI), including bedding kits, dignity kits, and kitchen kits. Scaling up shelter and financial assistance thus remain critical; Shelter Cluster partners have hitherto identified the urgent need for cash assistance for 4,000 families to meet rent needs.
• According to the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) cluster, these operations have caused severe damage to WASH infrastructure, affecting tens of thousands of residents. In Jenin governorate, over 3.3 kilometres of sewage networks and 21.4 kilometres of water pipelines have been severely damaged, primarily within Jenin refugee camp and surrounding areas. The Jenin Municipality reported that over 5,000 metres of damaged roads have further impacted the water and sewage networks, leaving about 5,000 water connections unconnected to the system. Water trucking has been provided to some disconnected areas, but service restoration remains a major challenge. In Tulkarm Governorate, heavy damage has been recorded in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, where 8.4 kilometres of sewage and stormwater networks and 15 kilometres of water pipelines have been severely damaged. The destruction has disrupted access to safe water for approximately 27,000 people, with at least 7,000 still not connected to the water system despite urgent municipal efforts to restore services. In Tubas governorate, a WASH assessment conducted in Tammun and El Fara’a refugee camp identified over four kilometres of damaged water and sanitation infrastructure, affecting around 10,000 people. Damage to these essential services, combined with the ongoing displacement crisis, has heightened the risk of waterborne diseases and other public health concerns, particularly in areas where residents have limited access to clean water and adequate sanitation.
• Humanitarian partners continue to scale up response efforts across Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas governorates, focusing on water distribution, sanitation interventions, and network restoration. According to the Palestinian Authority emergency operations room, about 75 per cent of the water and sanitation network in El Fara’a refugee camp had been restored as of 20 February. In Tulkarm and Jenin governorates, there is ongoing distribution of thousands of hygiene kits. To support displaced families, the Humanitarian Fund for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt HF) this week redirected funding for existing projects to provide cash assistance, rental subsidies and essential items, including food.

Funding

• As of 20 February 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately $146.6 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 Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Nearly 90 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 10 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during January 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 101 ongoing projects, totalling $72.4 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (86 per cent) and the West Bank (14 per cent). Of these projects, 55 are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 33 by national NGOs and 13 by UN agencies. Notably, 41 out of the 68 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. For more information, please see OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service webpage and the oPt HF webpage.

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