Protection of Civilians Report | 13 June – 4 July 2023

This reporting period exceptionally covers 22 days.

Latest Developments (after the reporting period)

This section is based on initial information from different sources. Further confirmed details will be provided in the next report.

• On 6 July, a Palestinian shot and killed an Israeli soldier and was subsequently killed by Israeli forces near the Israeli settlement of Kedumim and the Palestinian village of Jit (Qalqiliya). An Israeli guard was injured.
• On 7 July, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in an operation they were carrying out in Nablus, involving exchange of fire with Palestinians.

Highlights from the reporting period

• Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including one child, and two additional Palestinians, including another child, died of wounds sustained during an operation carried out by Israeli forces in Jenin. On 19 June, Israeli forces conducted a large-scale operation lasting over 11 hours, which began with undercover units raiding Jenin during the early morning hours. Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including one child, and injured 90 others. At least 50 of those injured were by live ammunition. Palestinians and Israeli forces exchanged fire in areas close to Jenin Refugee Camp. Improvised explosive devices were used by Palestinians, resulting in damage to Israeli military equipment. Subsequently, Israeli forces launched an airstrike, reportedly as part of the evacuation process for troops who faced Palestinian gunfire and were targeted with explosive devices. According to Israeli sources, eight members of Israeli forces were injured during the operation. According to medical sources, Israeli forces limited the movement of ambulances in the area during the operation. On 20 and 21 June, two additional Palestinians, including one girl, succumbed to wounds they had sustained by Israeli forces during that the operation in Jenin. An initial humanitarian assessment indicates that at least 75 houses are estimated to have sustained damage during the operation, including damage caused using shoulder-fired explosive projectiles. Damage was also reported to infrastructure such as electrical generators, water networks, and telecommunication services. No displacement was reported. 
• On 20 June, two Palestinian men were killed, and one child was injured, when an improvised explosive device was recklessly handled and detonated in Balata Refugee Camp (Nablus). 
• Two Palestinians killed four Israeli settlers, including two children, before they were shot dead. On 20 June, two Palestinians men shot and killed four Israeli settlers, including two children, and injured four others, near the Eli settlement (Nablus). One of the attackers was shot and killed by an Israeli settler at the location, while the other fled the scene and was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a manhunt, near Aqqaba village (Tubas). Subsequently, Israeli forces tightened movement restrictions in the Nablus governorate, and closed several checkpoints.
• Israeli forces killed a Palestinian during a settler-related incident. On 21 June, following the attack near Eli, an estimated 300-400 Israeli settlers entered the Palestinian community of Turmus’ayya (Ramallah), accompanied by Israeli forces. Israeli settlers opened fire, threw stones, physically assaulted Palestinian residents, and set fire to Palestinian-owned homes, vehicles, trees, and cultivated land (more details below). Palestinians threw stones, and Israeli forces shot live ammunition, rubber bullets and teargas canisters.  Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian man and injured another 41 others, including two children. 
• Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including one child, in a drone strike in Jenin. On 21 June, three Palestinians, including one child, were targeted by an Israeli airstrike while travelling in a vehicle near Al Jalama checkpoint (Jenin). The Israeli military stated that a drone strike targeted Palestinians who had previously carried out shooting attacks against Israelis. The Israeli authorities are withholding their bodies as of the end of this reporting period. 
• One Palestinian child was killed, and six members of Israeli forces and one Israeli settler were injured in two shooting attacks near checkpoints in the West Bank. On 24 June, a 17-year-old Palestinian opened fire at Israeli forces at Qalandiya checkpoint (Jerusalem) and was subsequently shot and killed by Israeli forces. According to Israeli sources, two members of Israeli forces were injured.  The child’s body is withheld by the Israeli authorities. On 13 June, one Israeli settler and four members of Israeli forces were injured after perpetrators believed to be Palestinians shot at Israeli vehicles while driving near Barta’a checkpoint (Jenin), with Israeli forces subsequently intensifying access restrictions in the area.
• On 3 and 4 July 2023, Israeli forces conducted a large-scale air and ground operation in Jenin Refugee Camp and its surroundings. Details of the humanitarian impact of the two-day operation are available in OCHA’s Flash Updates #1 and #2 and Situation report #1. The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) confirmed that twelve Palestinians, including four children, were killed during the operation in Jenin, in addition to one Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces on 3 July in Ramallah, during a demonstration that involved stone-throwing in protest to the Jenin operation. Furthermore, at least 143 Palestinians were injured during the operation. One Israeli soldier was killed, according to Israeli sources, and another was injured. An overview of the destruction from the Jenin operation is not included in this report as humanitarian assessments are still ongoing. 
• In additional incidents resulting in fatalities across the West Bank, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, and two others died of wounds sustained during five search-and-arrest operations and other operations carried out by Israeli forces, including a punitive demolition. On 13 June, Israeli forces raided the Balata Refugee Camp, surrounded a house, and exchanged fire with Palestinians. A Palestinian man with autism was shot and killed, and nine Palestinians were injured, all by live bullets fired by Israeli forces. On 15 June, Israeli forces raided Nablus city and conducted a punitive demolition of the family home of the Palestinian man involved in shooting and killing an Israeli soldier in Nablus city in October 2022. Palestinians threw stones in various locations in Nablus city, and in some instances an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians took place. One Palestinian man was shot and killed, and 333 Palestinians were injured, including three with live ammunition fired by Israeli forces. On 19 June, Israeli forces conducted an operation in Hussan (Bethlehem), during which Palestinians threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces, and the latter fired live ammunition and teargas canisters, killing one Palestinian man and injuring three others, including two with live ammunition. On 20 and 24 June, two Palestinian men succumbed to wounds they had sustained, one during a search-and-arrest operation in ‘Askar Refugee Camp (Nablus) on 19 June, and another during an Israeli forces’ operation in Jenin that involved exchanges of fire with Palestinians on 22 May 2023.
• During the reporting period, 1,310 Palestinians, including at least 103 children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank, including 105 people who were shot with live ammunition. The majority of the injuries (618) were reported in two punitive demolitions incidents in Nablus. An additional 317 injuries occurred during 23 search-and-arrest operations and other operations carried out by Israeli forces across the West Bank. In another 22 incidents, mainly around Nablus and Ramallah, 187 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces. Most of them were treated for teargas inhalation. This followed the entry of Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, into these Palestinian communities. Some 85 per cent of these injuries were reported between 20 and 24 June, after the killing of Israelis near Eli. Another 170 of all the injuries were recorded in demonstrations, including against settlement expansion and settlement-related access restrictions in Beit Dajan and Beita (both in Nablus), and Kafr Qaddum (Qalqilya), and in other demonstrations against the 3-4 July Jenin operation. One additional Palestinian child was physically assaulted, injured, and arrested by Israeli forces at a checkpoint in the H2 area of Hebron city. The remaining 17 Palestinian injuries, including four shot and injured with live ammunition, occurred during ad-hoc stone throwing confrontations with Israeli forces positioned at the entrance of Beit Ummar (Hebron) and Husan (Bethlehem). Overall, 953 Palestinians were treated for teargas inhalation, 105 were shot with live ammunition, 50 were injured by rubber bullets, 33 with shrapnel, 23 were physically assaulted, three were hit by sound grenades.
• Israeli settlers injured 19 Palestinians and caused damage to Palestinian properties in 46 instances in four consecutive days, between 20 and 24 June, throughout the northern and central West Bank. Following the shooting attack near Eli settlement, hundreds of Israeli settlers, accompanied by forces, opened fire, threw stones, physically assaulted Palestinian residents, and set fire to their properties in 36 Palestinian communities, mainly around Nablus and Ramallah. In total, 41 Palestinian-owned houses were damaged. Five Palestinian-owned houses were fully burnt in Turmus’ayya village (Ramallah) and 36 were damaged or burnt in Huwwara, Al Lubban ash Sahrqiya, ‘Urif, Turmus’ayya, Umm Saffa and Sinjil. Most of the damage occurred to windows, shattered with stones by settlers. At least six Palestinians households, comprising 25 Palestinians, including eight women, 12 children and one person with disabilities, were displaced. At least 75 Palestinian-owned vehicles were damaged or destroyed, including 39 that were fully burnt. In addition, on 21 June, Israeli settlers vandalized a school and a mosque in ‘Urif (Nablus). In the evening of 21 June, Israeli settlers entered the empty school and threw Molotov cocktails at two classroom windows, causing damage. In total, during these settler attacks, 19 Palestinians including five children were injured by settlers and an additional 160 were injured by Israeli forces intervening or otherwise participating. Out of the 160 injuried, 14 were by live ammunition, 15 by rubber bullets, 123 received medical treatment for inhaling teargas fired by forces, and eight were physically assaulted. Four Israeli settlers were injured by stones thrown by Palestinians during one of these incidents in ‘Urif (Nablus). 
• Another six Palestinian, including three children were injured by Israeli settlers, and people known or believed to be settlers damaged Palestinian property in another 33 instances across the West Bank. This is in addition to the Palestinian casualties by Israeli settlers and forces in the abovementioned settler-related incidents. On 21 June, Israeli settlers, attacked with a metal bar, physically assaulted, and injured one Palestinian man at the entrance of Birin (Hebron). On 28 June, settlers physically assaulted and injured two Palestinian children while thy were grazing their livestock in Al Mu'arrajat East (Ramallah). On the same day, Israeli settlers set up two residential tents on private Palestinian land in Khirbet at Tawamini area of Massafer Yatta (Hebron). In a subsequent physical clash between Palestinian landowners and Israeli settlers, one Palestinian man was physically assaulted and injured. On 2 July, Israeli settlers blocked a road next to Yasuf village (Nablus) and threw stones at Palestinian vehicles. One Palestinian child was injured with stones and two vehicles sustained damages. On 3 July, one Palestinian was shot and injured with live ammunition fired by Israeli settlers, after settlers attacked Deir Dibwan village (Ramallah) during the night, escorted by Israeli forces. Palestinians threw stones and Israeli settlers fired live ammunition, resulting in the injury of one Palestinian with live ammunition in the hand. According to community sources, more than 260 trees and saplings were vandalized during the reporting period on Palestinian land near Israeli settlements, in eight incidents near Husan and Al Khadr (both in Bethlehem), Tarqumiya, Al Bowereh and At Tuwani (all in Hebron), Umm Saffa and Dura al Qar'a (both in Ramallah), and Kafr ad Dik (Salfit). Other Palestinian property was damaged, and livestock was injured in 14 incidents in or near Ramallah, Nablus, Salfit, Hebron, Jerusalem and Qalqiliya. The damaged properties included residential and agricultural structures, tractors, crops, and a water network. In the remaining 11 incidents reported across the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones, vandalizing 19 Palestinian vehicles.
• In addition to the four Israelis killed, and the nine injured near Eli, Barta’a checkpoint (Jenin) and ‘Urif (Nablus) (see above), two other settlers were injured in stone throwing incidents across the West Bank. In two incidents, on 22 June and 4 July, Palestinians threw stones at Israeli vehicles near Jericho and Jerusalem, resulting in the injury of two Israelis and damage to two vehicles. Additionally, in another four incidents, near Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem, people believed to be Palestinians threw stones at Israeli vehicles, causing damage to two vehicles, according to Israeli sources. 
• Ten Israelis were injured in two Palestinian stabbing and ramming attacks in Israel and one Palestinian perpetrator was killed. On 3 July, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Jenin stabbed and injured an Israeli man in Bnei Brak (Israel) before being arrested by Israeli police. On 4 July, a Palestinian man from Hebron rammed his vehicle into Israeli pedestrians in Tel Aviv, before exiting his car and stabbing others. According to Israeli sources, up to nine people were injured, including a pregnant woman who lost her unborn baby. The perpetrator was reportedly shot and killed by an Israeli civilian. 
• The Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 38 structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, including 14 homes, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. As a result, 48 Palestinians, including 22 children, were displaced, and the livelihoods of more than 8,000 others were affected. Six of the affected structures were provided by donors in response to previous demolitions in Hammamat al Maleh and Ein al Hilwa - Um al Jmal communities (both in Tubas). More than half of the affected structures (23) were in Area C. The remaining 15 structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, including one residential structure in Ath Thuri, resulting in the displacement of two households comprising 14 people, including six children. Eleven (11) out of the 15 structures demolished in East Jerusalem were destroyed by their owners to avoid the payment of fines to the Israeli authorities. 
• On 15 and 22 June, Israeli forces raided Nablus city in Area A of the West Bank and demolished with explosives two apartments in two separate multi-story buildings, on punitive grounds, displacing two households, comprising eleven people, including three children. Both homes belonged to the families of two men who are arrested and accused of killing an Israeli soldier in October 2022. A Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces during one of those demolitions on 14 June, while during both demolitions, a total of 618 others were injured, including 38 children by Israeli forces; Palestinians reportedly threw stones and explosive items and Israeli forces used live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters. Since the beginning of 2023, 14 homes and one agricultural structure have been demolished on punitive grounds, compared with 14 structures in all of 2022 and three in 2021. Punitive demolitions are a form of collective punishment and as such are illegal under international law.
• In the Gaza Strip, in at least 21 incidents, Israeli forces opened “warning fire” near Israel’s perimeter fence or off the coast, presumably to enforce access restrictions. Throughout these incidents, the work of farmers and fishermen was severely disrupted. In two incidents, one fisherman was injured, and five others were arrested. Moreover, one fishing boat was confiscated, and another one was damaged. On two occasions, Israeli forces used bulldozers to level land inside Gaza, near the perimeter fence, in the Middle Area. Separately, three Palestinian men were arrested by Israeli forces while trying to enter Israel through the perimeter fence.
• On the 3 and 4 July, Palestinians gathered near the Israeli perimeter fence near Gaza city to protest the Israeli forces operation on Jenin. Five Palestinians were injured, including a child, as Palestinian protestors threw stones and Israeli forces fired live ammunition. 
• Additionally, in the Gaza Strip, on 14 and 26 June, three Palestinian children were injured by the detonation of unexploded ordnance after tampering with munition they found in Rafah and Gaza city.

Footnotes

1 Palestinians killed or injured by people who are not members of Israeli forces, e.g., by Israeli civilians or with Palestinian rockets falling short, as well as those whose immediate cause of death or the perpetrator’s identity remain disputed, unclear, or unknown, are counted separately.

2 Israeli casualties in these charts include people who were injured while running to shelters during Palestinian rocket attacks. Foreign nationals killed in Palestinian attacks and people whose immediate cause of death or the perpetrator’s identity remain disputed, unclear, or unknown, are counted separately.