Humanitarian Situation Update #285 | West Bank

Starting today, the Humanitarian Situation Updates on the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank are both issued every Wednesday. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Updates will be published on 7 May.

Key Highlights

• Almost 100 days into the Israeli operation in the northern West Bank, about 40,000 Palestinians remain displaced. As this situation risks becoming permanent, the UN Human Rights Office warns it may amount to forcible transfer.
• With two more child fatalities last week, the total number of children killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the beginning of 2025 has risen to 23.
• A Palestinian fell to his death as Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at people trying to cross the West Bank Barrier in search of work. Since 7 October 2023, 10 Palestinians have been killed and over 100 injured in similar circumstances.
• Israeli settler attacks over the past week resulted in the injury of over 30 Palestinians, the displacement of two families, and widespread damage to homes, a school, and vital livelihood infrastructure.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 22 and 28 April, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians – both children – and injured at least 49 others, including 10 children, across the West Bank. One other Palestinian succumbed to wounds sustained when he was shot by Israeli forces on 1 February 2025. In addition, six Palestinians were injured by Israeli settlers (see below) and six were injured by live ammunition where it remains unknown if they were shot by Israeli forces or settlers.
  • On 23 April, Israeli forces shot and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy during a raid in the town of Al Yamun, in Jenin governorate. According to the Mayor, Israeli forces raided the town in jeeps and fired live ammunition at Palestinians who threw stones at them.
  • On 25 April, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy in the village of Salim, in Nablus governorate. According to the Village Council, Israeli forces raided the village and reportedly shot the boy as he was closing and leaving his father’s shop.
  • On 26 April, a Palestinian man succumbed to injuries sustained by Israeli forces’ live ammunition in Beit Furik, in Nablus governorate, on 1 February 2025. Eyewitnesses and video footage showed the man was shot, physically assaulted, handcuffed and left on the ground by Israeli forces in the village.
• On 27 April, a 50-year-old Palestinian man from Iraq Burin village, in Nablus governorate, fell to his death, reportedly while trying to jump over the West Bank Barrier near Ar Ram town, in Jerusalem governorate, with other Palestinians in search for work. During the incident, Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets toward the group.
• To access occupied East Jerusalem, nearly three million Palestinians with West Bank ID cards are required by the Israeli authorities to have individual, Israeli-issued permits, which are difficult to obtain. Since October 2023, Israeli authorities have revoked or suspended most of the permits, including those issued for workers, and attempts to bypass checkpoints have frequently been met with lethal force. Since then, in addition to the man who died in Ar Ram (see above), OCHA has documented the killing of 10 Palestinians by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces at them while they were trying to cross through informal openings of the Barrier, primarily in Tulkarm and Qalqilya governorates, amid rising unemployment in the West Bank. An additional 113 Palestinians have been injured within the same context. In comparison, 15 Palestinians were injured within this context during the first nine months of 2023 and there were no fatalities. According to the Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (IRDNA) issued by the World Bank, European Union, and UN on 18 February 2025, the unemployment rate averaged 35 per cent across the West Bank between October 2023 and September 2024 “due to the abrupt loss of jobs in Israel and the settlements, as well as job losses in the local economy. Out of the estimated 195,000 workers employed in the commerce, services, industry, and hospitality and tourism establishments in the West Bank, an estimated 40,000 people have lost their jobs due to heightened restrictions and the ensuing reduction in the labour force. The total losses in the commerce and industry sector in the West Bank are estimated at US$1.3 billion, mainly because of trade restrictions and reduced markets.” In its 2004 Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) established that the sections of the Barrier which run inside the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, together with the associated permit and gate regime, violate Israel’s obligations under international law.
• On 29 April, the UN Secretary-General warned that in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “Israeli military operations and the use of heavy weaponry in residential areas, forcible displacement, demolitions, movement restrictions, and settlement expansion are dramatically altering demographic and geographic realities.” He emphasized that Palestinians are being “contained and coerced” –contained in areas facing intensified military activity and mounting pressure on the Palestinian Authority; and coerced out of areas witnessing settlement expansion. The Secretary-General noted that “settler violence continues at alarmingly high levels in a climate of impunity,” with some attacks “abetted by Israeli soldiers.” He further noted that Palestinian attacks against Israelis in both Israel and the West Bank also continue.
• Between 22 and 28 April, OCHA documented the demolition by Israeli authorities of 27 structures for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. All but two of the structures were in Area C and two residences were in East Jerusalem. This led to the displacement of 29 Palestinians, including 16 children, and affected the livelihoods of over 60 people. Two families comprising 13 people, including five children, were displaced on 22 April in Ar Rakeez community of Masafer Yatta, in Hebron governorate, where Israeli authorities demolished two residential structures and a latrine previously provided as humanitarian assistance; an animal shelter; and two other structures. On the same day, a family of five lost its source of livelihood when Israeli forces demolished ten of their greenhouses in Area C near the Barrier in Al Jalama village, in Jenin governorate, damaging ten dunums of seasonal crops, and bulldozed three additional dunums planted with uncovered crops.
• On 22 April, two people were displaced when Israeli forces punitively demolished with explosives a house in Area B of Ar Ram town, in Jerusalem governorate, bringing the total number of houses demolished on punitive grounds since the beginning of 2025 to 13. The house, which was on the upper floor of a two-storey building, belonged to the family of a Palestinian man who was killed on 14 July 2024 after ramming and injuring four Israeli soldiers near Ramla city in Israel, one of whom died of wounds on 25 July 2024. During the demolition, Israeli forces, including snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings, imposed a curfew on the town for eight hours and evacuated residents of buildings living within a 200-metre radius of the to-be detonated house. At least five residential buildings and some vehicles nearby sustained damage.
• Between 22 and 28 April 2025, OCHA documented 14 settler-related incidents that resulted in the injury of 36 Palestinians, displacement of two families comprising eight people and damage to seven residential structures, four vehicles, five livelihood-related assets, one water network, as well as a school and a youth community centre. Six Palestinians were injured by settlers in three separate incidents involving physical assault or stone throwing: on 22 April, settlers assaulted a 50-year-old Palestinian herder in Barriyet Za’atra, in Bethlehem governorate, causing him to lose consciousness, and stole 15 sheep; on 26 April, settlers from a newly established outpost near Kobar village, in Ramallah governorate, assaulted and detained two Palestinian men, fired live ammunition, and verbally threatened Palestinian Bedouin families to leave their community; and on the same day, settlers from Asfar settlement injured three Palestinian farmers in Wadi Sa’ir, in Hebron governorate, using stones and sticks, and damaged their vehicle. Another six Palestinians were injured by live ammunition and shrapnel, reportedly fired by either armed settlers or Israeli forces, during a settler attack on Bardala village, in Tubas governorate in the northern Jordan Valley, on 24 April; during the incident, settlers, accompanied by Israeli forces, also set ablaze two houses and two animal shelters, displacing two families comprising eight people, including three children. An additional 24 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces in two separate incidents in Sinjil town, in Ramallah governorate, on 23 and 25 April, when Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and Israeli forces intervened, critically injuring one Palestinian with live ammunition and 15 others who inhaled tear gas.
• Of the 14 documented settler-related incidents, at least eight involved damage to Palestinian-owned property. On 25 April, settlers from Revava settlement assaulted a Palestinian farmer in Haris village, in Salfit governorate, and confiscated his mobile phone and agricultural tools. On 27 April, settlers from a newly established outpost near Beit ‘Anan village, in Jerusalem governorate, raided a solid waste landfill serving 16 villages, handcuffed two guards, stole their phones, and seized a landfill truck and a motorcycle. On 28 April, settlers raided the Khalet al Aiedeh area of Hebron city, throwing stones at homes and causing damage to two houses; similar attacks in this area reportedly occurred over six consecutive nights during the same week. Other incidents included damage to a youth centre in Kafr Ni’ma village, in Ramallah governorate, theft of livestock in Wadi Raya near An Nabi Salih village, also in Ramallah, and vandalism of vehicles and homes during settler raids on Kifl Haris, in Salfit governorate, on 24 and 25 April.
• One of the eight documented incidents involving damage to Palestinian-owned property occurred on 26 April in Khirbet Zanuta in southern Hebron, where Israeli settlers from a newly established outpost raided the community during night hours and broke into the village’s school, which had recently been rehabilitated by residents through a donor-funded project. Settlers vandalized and destroyed newly renovated classrooms, causing significant damage to the school’s infrastructure. This incident is the latest in a series of settler-related attacks targeting Khirbet Zanuta, a herding community of 24 households comprising about 140 people, about half of whom are children, who were all forcibly displaced in October-November 2023 following repeated settler threats and violence. At the time, settlers reportedly warned families they would be killed if they did not evacuate, forcing them to dismantle about 50 residential and animal structures and to leave their community along with their 5,000 livestock. Some families began returning after a May 2024 Israeli Supreme Court ruling, which ordered Israeli authorities to facilitate their safe return; however, settler harassment and violence have persisted, hindering the ability of families to fully return. On 30 April, the Education Cluster issued a statement on the attack on Khirbet Zanuta school, noting that it is part of “an ongoing pattern of harassment and forced displacement in Zanuta, where Israeli forces and settlers have repeatedly attacked educational facilities and homes.” It highlighted that the same school had been burned and destroyed by settlers in November 2023, contributing to the initial displacement. The Cluster urged international actors to ensure accountability, uphold the Safe Schools Declaration, and protect Palestinian students and educational facilities in line with international law.
• On 23 April, the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) and the Occupied Palestinian Territory Education Cluster issued a brief that outlines the impact of the ongoing protection crisis on education in the West Bank and provides recommendations to support the continuity of learning, among others. According to the brief, recurrent attacks on education-related infrastructure, movement restrictions, and the growing exposure of children and teachers to violence have severely undermined access to safe and quality education in the West Bank. As a result, learners face significant disruptions, with many unable to reach schools regularly, while some schools have temporarily closed due to insecurity. Learning losses are particularly acute in areas affected by movement restrictions that hamper consistent access to learning and areas most affected by settler violence and operations by Israeli forces, where children face psychosocial distress and “threats that undermine their sense of safety, negatively impact their mental health and well-being, and inhibit their ability to learn.” The brief recommends expanding the reach of catch-up programs to bridge learning gaps, monitoring violations, arranging escorts, organizing a flexible and responsive transportation system, and providing mental health and psychosocial support, among other recommendations. These measures would help mitigate “the risks of reversing education gains, preventing permanent dropouts, and reducing vulnerabilities that can lead to long-term consequences such as poor employment prospects, income insecurity, and multidimensional poverty.”
• The abovementioned settler-related incidents in Bardala and Sinjil reflect recent trends entailing the increased frequency, scale and severity of settler violence following the establishment of new settlement outposts near Palestinian communities, including the growing involvement of large groups of settlers. Perpetrated attacks have frequently involved the targeting of homes, farmland and water infrastructure, with several carried out in the presence of Israeli forces. These developments contribute to a coercive environment, heightening the risk of displacement and deepening the reliance of affected communities on humanitarian assistance.
  • In Bardala, following the establishment of a new settlement outpost between September and December 2024 to the northwest of the village, settlers have erected residential structures, livestock pens, and fences on privately-owned Palestinian land. In subsequent months, settlers believed to be from this outpost carried out nine attacks that resulted in casualties, property damage or both, and were involved in nine other incidents that entailed trespass, harassment and access restrictions, compared with a total of three settler-related incidents documented between 2020 and 2024, prior to the establishment of the outpost. Incidents included the vandalism of 100 olive trees, destruction of irrigation systems, daily livestock grazing on lands cultivated by Palestinians, school intrusions, and physical assaults on farmers and herders, including one case resulting in a broken jaw. Settlers often operated in groups and were, in several cases, accompanied by Israeli forces, who intervened by firing tear gas cannisters and arresting Palestinians. In March, Israeli forces erected a road gate blocking access to farmland in Bardala, further restricting movement and negatively affecting people’s livelihoods.
  • In Sinjil, a similar surge in violence followed the establishment of a settlement outpost on 20 April 2025 on privately-owned Palestinian land in Area B, located on an archaeological site south of the town. Although the settler tent was reportedly dismantled by Israeli forces, settlers soon returned and carried out a series of violent raids, which included the burning of four homes, theft and killing of livestock, destruction of agricultural assets, and assaults on residents of Sinjil town. These incidents resulted in the death of a 48-year-old man on 21 April from a heart attack, reportedly triggered by tear gas inhalation, and injuries to at least 35 others, including four children, with Israeli forces present in multiple cases, firing live ammunition and tear gas cannisters and conducting arrests.

Developments in the northern West Bank

• Over 90 per cent of the 118 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank between 1 January and 30 April 2025 were in the six northern West Bank governorates of Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit. Seven Israelis, including five members of Israeli forces, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank so far in 2025, all of them in the northern West Bank.
• Israeli forces continue to impose access restrictions and conduct raids in and around the northern West Bank cities as part of their ongoing operations. On 29 April, Jenin Municipality reported that Israeli forces raided the eastern neighbourhood of Jenin city, damaged an estimated 200 metres of roads, and detained five people, including one woman. According to the Tulkarm Municipality, for the second week in a row and despite initial approval by Israeli authorities, Israeli forces prevented the rehabilitation of the Nablus-Tulkarm Road, near Nur Shams refugee camp, and blocked the road using tires and earth mounds. These measures, combined with the ongoing military presence and reconfiguration of camps’ infrastructure, risk further preventing the return of displaced residents, with Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps currently remaining largely empty. In February, the Israeli Defence Minister instructed Israeli forces to remain in the refugee camps for an extended period, with military posts already being established within camps alongside major bulldozing of infrastructure.
• As tens of thousands of displaced people continue to be prevented from returning to their homes and communities in Tulkarm and Jenin, displacement by Israeli forces continues in the neighbourhoods surrounding the refugee camps in Tulkarm and Jenin. According to the Jenin Municipality, on 26 April, Israeli forces ordered more than 20 families to leave their homes in Az Zahra’ neighbourhood, on the northern side of Jenin refugee camp. The forces then reportedly searched houses and permitted residents to return after about three hours. On 30 April, Tulkarm Municipality reported that more than 10 families from the eastern neighbourhood near Tulkarm refugee camp were ordered to leave by Israeli forces, some of whom have begun returning as of the time of reporting.
• On 25 April, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), released a statement on the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, noting that settler violence and operations conducted by Israeli forces continue to kill or injure Palestinians and are resulting in the forced displacement of Palestinians in many areas. Regarding the ongoing operations in the northern West Bank, OHCHR stated that “Israeli security forces [continue] to prevent Palestinians from returning to their homes in the refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarm, while carrying out widespread destruction coupled with the creation of pathways and barriers inside the camps and conducting daily raids on Palestinian towns and villages.” Additionally, they warned of the prospect of permanent displacement: “With every day this operation continues, the prospect that Palestinians in affected camps will be able to return to their homes is diminishing, risking the permanent displacement of Palestinians from key West Bank population centres, amounting to forcible transfer.”
• The UN and its partners continue to respond to the deepening needs of displaced families in affected areas in the northern West Bank, including by providing food, water and sanitation assistance, health services, psycho-social support, and multi-purpose cash assistance. Since the beginning of the Israeli forces’ operation in the northern West Bank on 21 January, and as of 30 April, 6,853 households – including 3,498 in Jenin refugee camp, 2,271 in Tulkarm refugee camp, and 1,084 in Nur Shams refugee camp – have received their first multi-purpose cash assistance through Cash Working Group (CWG) partners.

Key figures for the first quarter of 2025

• Between 1 January and 31 March 2025, Israeli forces and settlers killed 102 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, compared with 109 fatalities in the last quarter of 2024. During the same period, Palestinians killed seven Israelis in the West Bank (including five members of Israeli forces and two settlers), compared with one Israeli killed in the previous quarter. In Israel, 14 Israelis were killed by Palestinians from the West Bank in attacks that also resulted in the killing of six Palestinians, compared with six Israelis killed in the previous quarter.
• Settler violence resulting in casualties and property damage remained high, with 356 incidents documented in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 439 incidents in the previous quarter. These attacks contributed to the displacement of 38 Palestinian households comprising 223 people, including 113 children, primarily from Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities, citing settler violence and access restrictions as key drivers.
• In parallel, 431 Palestinian structures were demolished, confiscated, or sealed by Israeli authorities during the first quarter of 2025, displacing 554 Palestinians, including 263 children, compared with 421 structures demolished and 813 people displaced in the last quarter of 2024. Of the total, 335 structures were demolished by Israeli authorities in Area C and 55 in East Jerusalem, for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain, displacing a total of 390 Palestinians, including 221 children.
• For additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2005 and March 2025, please refer to the OCHA West Bank snapshot.

Funding

• As of 29 April 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$ 599.0 million out of the $4.07 billion (14.7 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 88 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 12 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during March 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 110 ongoing projects, totalling $67.6 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent). Of these projects, 56 are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 42 by national NGOs and 12 by UN agencies. Notably, 43 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.