Humanitarian Situation Update #230 | 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. As of this week, the Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update will be issued on 22 October.

Key Highlights

• The number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since 7 October 2023 rises to more than 700.
• Since 1 October, Israeli settlers sawed off, burnt or otherwise vandalized about 600 mainly olive trees and saplings in about 15 communities across the West Bank.*
• The World Food Programme warns that food insecurity in the West Bank could affect 600,000 people, up from 352,000 at the start of 2023.
• Diplomatic missions from twelve countries issued a joint statement urging Israel to ensure a successful olive harvest in the West Bank amid concerns of heightened settler violence and movement restrictions.

Latest Developments (after 14 October)

• According to initial information, on 17 October, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian woman while harvesting olives in Faqua’a (Jenin). On 15 October, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during an operation in the Jenin refugee camp, and on the same day a Palestinian man succumbed to wounds sustained during an operation by Israeli forces in Jenin city on 5 July.

Humanitarian Developments(8-14 October)

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including one child`, in the West Bank. Additionally, 104 Palestinians, including nine children, were injured, with 94 injured by Israeli forces and 10 by settlers.
• The incidents resulting in fatalities during the reporting period are as follows:
  • On 8 October, under-cover Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man after surrounding his house in Aqqaba village (Tubas). During the operation, Israeli forces shot live ammunition, sound grenades, and a shoulder-fired explosive projectile at the main door. The family of the man wanted by the Israeli army and his brother’s family were inside the two-story house. The Israeli army subsequently allowed the man’s brother to evacuate the women and children and fatally shot the man with live ammunition. The grenades caused a fire in parts of the house. The man’s body was withheld by Israeli forces.
  • On 9 October, undercover Israeli forces killed four Palestinians and injured one by opening fire at them from close range while they were inside a vehicle in Nablus city. According to Israeli forces, the five targeted men were accused of involvement in attacks against Israelis.
  • On 10 October, an Israeli drone-fired missile struck a vehicle and killed two Palestinians during a six-hour operation in Nur Shams refugee camp (Tulkarm). During the operation, Israeli forces bulldozed infrastructure and damaged the area surrounding the camp’s main entrance, temporarily cutting off the water supply. Israeli forces withheld the bodies of the two fatalities, and no arrests were reported. According to the Israeli military, the fatalities were armed and one of them led a local armed group involved in attacking Israelis and Israeli forces operating in Tulkarm area.
  • On 14 October, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old child, during a nine-hour operation in Jenin refugee camp that involved exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians. Israeli forces besieged and shelled a residential house within the camp and military bulldozers caused significant damage to roads, leading to temporary power outages. As the operation happened in the daytime, 145 children and teachers were stranded inside their schools and kindergarten for about two hours until the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) staff were able to evacuate them.
• On 9 October, the World Food Programme (WFP) expressed deep concern about the volatile situation in the West Bank, where large-scale Israeli operations, movement restrictions, and increasing settler violence are contributing to rising hunger levels. More than 160,000 people have lost their work permits in Israel, leaving families without income, and WFP estimates that the escalation of violence and spillover from the war in Gaza could push at least 600,000 people into food insecurity, compared with 352,000 at the start of 2023. In response, WFP’s voucher programme has expanded sixfold, and as of September, it reached nearly 215,000 Palestinians with cash-based transfers. These efforts include “cash top-ups in support of the national social safety net and one-off cash assistance for displaced civilians,” in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development and UNRWA.
• During the reporting period, Israeli settlers perpetrated 32 attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage or both. The majority of incidents took place within the context of the olive harvest season and resulted in about 450 trees and saplings either sawed off, burnt, stolen or otherwise vandalized by Israeli settlers. Overall, during this period, 14 Palestinians were injured, including 10 by Israeli settlers and four by Israeli forces in settler-related incidents. Four of those injured were children, including three injured by Israeli forces and one by Israeli settlers.
• Key settler attacks affecting Palestinians during the reporting period include:
  • 11 October: A group of armed Israeli settlers believed to be from Giv'at Eitam settlement outpost physically assaulted six Palestinian farmers while working in their olive groves in Khalet al Louza (Bethlehem). Four of the farmers sustained injuries and were transported to hospital for treatment. The settlers vandalized three surveillance cameras, damaged an agricultural room, a fence, and a stone wall, and destroyed 18 olive and grape trees. Israeli forces subsequently arrived and evacuated the settlers.
  • 11 October: Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians from Burqa village (Ramallah) and injured a 17-year-old Palestinian child with live ammunition in the leg. Community sources stated that, after Friday prayers, Israeli settlers were touring the outskirts of the village, close to the houses, and intimidated Palestinians. Israeli forces subsequently arrived at the scene and fired live ammunition and tear gas cannisters toward Palestinians, but no injuries were reported by the forces.
  • On 14 October, Israeli settlers tried to force Palestinian farmers off their land, while harvesting their olive trees near Qusra village (Nablus), according to the village council and one of the affected farmers. When Palestinians refused to leave, masked settlers accompanied by Israeli forces attacked and threw stones at Palestinian houses and Israeli forces opened fire while Palestinians threw stones at them. Four Palestinians, including three children, were injured and, according to the village council, the homes of 14 families sustained damage.
• This olive harvest season, Palestinian farmers across the West Bank are facing heightened risks and challenges due to access restrictions and widespread settler attacks, severely undermining their livelihoods and exposing them to physical harm. Since the beginning of October 2024, OCHA documented 51 settler-related incidents, including 32 that led to casualties, property damage or both, which took place in 57 communities across the West Bank. The majority of the incidents were related to the olive harvest season whereby Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians or prevented them from gaining access to their lands and damaged trees, stole crops and harvesting tools. According to community sources, more than half of these incidents entailed prevention of access to lands where they had previously not faced similar access restrictions. Overall, since 1 October 2024, 54 Palestinians were injured within the context of settler attacks against Palestinians, including 44 by Israeli settlers and 10 by Israeli forces. Furthermore, about 600 (mainly olive) trees and saplings were burnt, sawed off, had their crops stolen, or otherwise vandalized since 1 October, affecting farmers in about 15 communities across the West Bank.
• On 14 October, diplomatic missions from twelve countries issued a joint statement calling on Israel to ensure a successful olive harvest in the West Bank. The missions expressed concern over ongoing Israeli settler violence and movement restrictions that hinder Palestinian access to their olive groves, particularly in areas adjacent to settlements and along the Barrier. They urged Israel to “ensure that all Palestinians in the West Bank can participate and benefit from their olive trees and the olive harvest…[and] facilitate continuous, unfettered, and predictable access for Palestinian farmers to their lands.” The missions emphasized that Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated under international law to protect Palestinian farmers and enable their economic development, calling for immediate accountability measures against settler violence and harassment.
• During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 14 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, all citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits. As a result, 13 people, including four children, were displaced. All structures were demolished by the Israeli authorities and were recorded in Area C of the West Bank, including in Al ‘Arrub refugee camp (Hebron), Az Za'ayyem Bedouin (Jerusalem), Az Zawiya (Salfit), and Al Jalama (Jenin).

Key Figures, 7 October 2023 – 14 October 2024 

• In total, 728 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in addition to two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October 2023. These include 711 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 1,492 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 149 led to Palestinian casualties, 1,188 led to damage to Palestinian property, and 155 led to both casualties and property damage. Since 7 October 2023, 277 Palestinians households comprising 1,628 people, including 794 children, have been displaced from about 40 Bedouin and herding communities across the West Bank, primarily citing attacks by Israeli settlers and access restrictions.
• Israeli authorities destroyed, confiscated, sealed or forced the demolition of 1,799 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 4,588 Palestinians, including about 1,923 children. Demolished structures include 82 donor-funded structures that had been provided as humanitarian assistance. 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, the vast majority (89 per cent) in Jenin refugee camp and Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, both in Tulkarm.   
• 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 17 October, Member States have disbursed about US$1.89 billion out of the $3.42 billion (55 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.)
• The oPt humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) is currently managing 87 ongoing projects, totalling $77.5 million. These projects aim to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (90 per cent) and the West Bank (10 per cent). They 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, 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.

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