Humanitarian Situation Update #310 | West Bank

The Humanitarian Situation Updates on the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank are both issued every Wednesday/Thursday. The Gaza Humanitarian Response Update is issued every other Tuesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update on the West Bank will be published on 6 or 7 August.

Key Highlights

• Between 22 and 28 July, nine Palestinians, including five children, were killed in the West Bank, including seven by Israeli forces, one by a settlement guard and one by an armed settler.
• Pressure on Palestinian herding and Bedouin communities in Area C continues, with more than 120 people displaced during the reporting period: 20 by demolitions and over 100, mostly children, by Israeli settlers.
• So far in July, eight Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces; the second deadliest month for children this year since January 2025, when ten children were killed.
• The UN Human Rights Office warns that Israeli policies, legislative actions and practices aim to empty certain areas of the West Bank of Palestinians, advance the settlement enterprise, and consolidate the annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 22 and 28 July, nine Palestinians, including five children, were killed in the West Bank. Seven were killed by Israeli forces, one by a settlement security guard and one by an armed settler. During the same period, at least 17 Palestinians, including six children, were injured, the majority (11) by Israeli forces and six by Israeli settlers (see below). The following are details of the incidents that resulted in fatalities (except for the Palestinian killed by a settler, which is included later in this update):
  • On 22 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy with live ammunition in the chest, and injured one other, during a raid in Qabatiya town, in Jenin governorate. According to the municipality and eyewitnesses, Israeli forces searched multiple homes, Palestinians threw stones toward the forces, and the forces fired tear gas canisters and live ammunition as well as obstructed ambulance access.
  • On 23 July, Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy and injured another boy his age during an operation in Arraba town, in Jenin governorate, where they opened fire at Palestinians throwing stones at the forces. According to the municipality, the forces raided the western entrance of the town, reportedly in response to stone-throwing by Palestinians at the forces.
  • On 24 July, Israeli forces shot, killed and withheld the bodies of two Palestinian boys (aged 15 and 17) in Al Khadr village, in Bethlehem governorate. According to the Israeli military, their forces fired at two people who were throwing Molotov cocktails at a main road in the area. According to medical sources, Israeli forces prevented an ambulance from reaching the area and fired warning shots in the air.
  • On 25 July, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy died from injuries sustained three days earlier on 22 July during a 36-hour Israeli operation in Nablus city, when, according to eyewitnesses, he was shot with live ammunition while standing near the entrance to Ein Beit El Mai Camp, on the western side of the city. The operation involved raids across multiple neighbourhoods in Nablus, the encirclement of two hospitals, and a raid into the emergency department of Rafidia Hospital. Israeli forces also arrested at least three Palestinians.
  • On 25 July, Israeli forces shot, killed and withheld the body of a Palestinian man near Shim’a settlement, in Hebron governorate. According to the Israeli military, the man was carrying a knife and attempted to carry out a stabbing attack.
  • On 25 July, an Israeli security guard shot and killed a Palestinian man near Migdal Oz settlement, in Bethlehem governorate. According to the Israeli military, the man had a knife and was shot while running and throwing stones towards the settlement’s gate. His body was withheld by Israeli forces.
  • On 28 July, Israeli forces shot, killed and withheld the body of a Palestinian man near the northern entrance of Hebron city. According to the Israeli military, the man threw a brick at them. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers prevented medical teams from providing first aid.
• In a statement published on 30 July, the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) called on Israel to immediately end violence, policies and practices against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. They described “a pattern of the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force that resulted in the unlawful killing and injury of Palestinians." Furthermore, they warned of escalating Israeli settler violence “with the acquiescence, support, and in some cases participation” of Israeli forces and stated: “In conjunction, [s]tate policy and legislative actions appear aimed at emptying certain areas of the West Bank of the Palestinian population, advancing the settlement enterprise, and consolidating the annexation” of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
• Between 22 and 28 July, OCHA documented the demolition of 41 Palestinian-owned structures, including 14 homes for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. These included 38 structures in Area C and three in East Jerusalem. In total, 58 Palestinians, including 20 children and 19 women, were displaced, and the livelihoods of more than 69 others were affected.
  • Out of the 38 structures demolished in Area C, 20 structures belonging to Palestinian herding families were demolished on 23 July on the outskirts of Al Mughayyir village, in Ramallah governorate. These included nine residential structures, two mobile latrines, three solar systems, five animal shelters and one fodder storage. The latrines and solar systems had been provided as humanitarian assistance. The demolition resulted in the displacement of five Palestinian households comprising 22 people, including 10 children, while three additional households comprising 21 people, including eight children, were otherwise affected. During the demolition, furniture, personal belongings, fodder, and water tanks were also damaged. Most of the displaced and affected families had previously been displaced from Ras al Tin Bedouin community in 2023 following repeated Israeli settler attacks.
  • Also in Area C, on 24 July, Israeli authorities demolished 11 structures, including two homes, in two herding communities in Tubas governorate in the northern Jordan Valley, displacing one household and affecting three others. In Ein al Hilwa herding community, seven structures were demolished – including three donor-funded structures – displacing one household comprising five people, including three children, and affecting an elderly woman with a disability. In Ein al Beida village, four structures were demolished, affecting three households comprising 12 people, including three children. So far in 2025, there has been a sharp increase in displacement across Area C by lack-of-permit demolitions; between 1 January and 28 July, 840 Palestinian-owned structures have been demolished, resulting in the displacement of 807 people, including over 400 children. This is compared with 581 structures demolished and 546 people displaced in the same period in 2024, and 414 structures demolished and 308 people displaced during the same period in 2023.
  • Three homes in East Jerusalem were demolished by their owners – in the neighbourhoods of Jabal al Mukabbir and Beit Hanina – due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits. These demolitions displaced eight households comprising 31 people, including 10 children, and affected an additional six people. The families had received demolition orders years ago and appointed legal representation, but Israeli courts consistently rejected their petitions and imposed cumulative fines. Due to the near-impossibility of obtaining Israeli-issued building permits and the limited success of legal appeals, many families in East Jerusalem have increasingly resorted to demolishing their own homes to avoid further fines. Between 1 January to 28 July 2025, OCHA documented the demolition of 118 structures in East Jerusalem for lacking permits, including 69 inhabited residential structures, resulting in the displacement of 355 Palestinians, including 178 children. Of these, 74 structures (63 per cent) were demolished by the owners, in some cases with partial involvement of Israeli authorities. On average, 51 Palestinians in East Jerusalem have been displaced per month by lack-of-permit demolitions since January 2023, up from 29 per month between 2019 and 2022, and 15 per month between 2009 and 2018.

Intensification of Israeli Settler Attacks

• Between 22 and 28 July, OCHA documented at least 24 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both. These attacks led to the displacement of 17 households, comprising 101 people, including 53 children, and the killing of one Palestinian man and injury of seven Palestinians, including two children – six by Israeli settlers and one by Israeli forces. In addition, settlers vandalized more than 180 olive trees, grape vines and saplings, eleven Palestinian-owned vehicles, more than 20 homes and at least 19 animal shelters. Key incidents included the following:
  • Near the community of Umm al Kheir, in Hebron governorate, on 28 July, Israeli settlers shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured another. Israeli settlers, known to be from Carmel settlement, arrived near the community and began bulldozing the community’s land, destroying fences and olive trees. Residents gathered around the bulldozer, as it began moving towards a water network that the community depends on, and a settler fired live ammunition toward them, killing one man. According to the settler quoted in Israeli media, the residents were throwing stones at them. In addition, a settler hit and injured a Palestinian man with the bulldozer. Israeli forces later arrived at the scene and detained three Palestinians, two foreign nationals, and the Israeli settler who opened fire, and withheld the body of the killed Palestinian. According to the family of the deceased, on 29 July, Israeli forces arrived after they set up a tent for mourning gatherings and declared the area a “closed military zone” and detained nine Palestinians and two foreign nationals. Since 2020, OCHA has documented 16 settler-related incidents affecting Umm al Kheir community that resulted in casualties or property damage. The number of incidents has risen steadily – from two in 2020, to six in 2024, and seven so far in 2025. The seven incidents in 2025 have involved settlers believed to be from the same nearby settlement and have resulted in the injury of nine Palestinians and property damage, particularly to agricultural and animal-related structures.
  • In Barriyyet Kisan area in Bethlehem governorate, Israeli settlers carried out a series of attacks that have resulted in the forced displacement of 17 Palestinian families, comprising 101 people, including 53 children, and the damage or destruction of 17 residential shelters and 17 animal shelters. On 23 July, armed settlers from a nearby outpost raided the Deir Alla area, took over an uninhabited Palestinian house, and established a new outpost. Since then, they have repeatedly harassed residents by grazing livestock near homes and engaging in other forms of intimidation. On 24 July, settlers destroyed the donor-funded water network supplying the community and blocked the only access road connecting the community to Kisan village, leaving the 17 families without access to water or basic services. According to community sources, settlers also threatened to burn down the area unless residents left. On 28 July, after the families had left, settlers destroyed the abandoned structures in the community. The displaced families managed to take only their livestock – approximately 1,200 sheep – leaving behind personal belongings and shelters. They have since relocated to Kisan village but have not yet managed to build alternative shelters for their livestock.
  • In three communities within Masafer Yatta, Hebron governorate, outside the Israeli-declared “Firing Zone 918,” Israeli settlers injured six Palestinians – including two children and two women, one of whom is elderly – and caused widespread property damage. On 24 July, in Mantiqat Shi’b al Butum, armed settlers cut a fence, threw stones and physically assaulted and injured a 75-year-old Palestinian woman who was standing near her home. As she attempted to flee, they pursued and beat her. The settlers also vandalized her home – damaging windows and doors, stealing belongings, and destroying two solar lamps and two solar water heaters. On 25 July, settlers raided the village of At Tuwani allegedly searching for stolen sheep. Accompanied by Israeli forces, they attacked residents with stones and sticks, injuring three Palestinians, including the Head of the Village Council and a mother and her son. The settlers also damaged three homes, destroyed three water tanks, and stole 12 sheep. On 28 July, near Ar Rakeez, armed settlers stopped a Palestinian man and his 14-year-old son while they were driving home at night. The settlers forcibly removed them from their vehicle, physically assaulted and injured them, and damaged belongings. Since early 2023, settler violence in Masafer Yatta has sharply escalated, resulting in casualties and widespread property damage. Incident frequency has surged from 1.5 per month in 2021-2022 to nearly five per month since 2023, reaching almost six per month in the first seven months of 2025. Compared with just 18 incidents recorded between 2006 and 2020, the 180 incidents documented between 2021 and 2024 reflect a stark and sustained increase.
  • In the Khirbet Ibziq herding community in Tubas governorate, Israeli settlers damaged essential infrastructure and resources critical to the community’s survival. The community, home to at least ten Palestinian families comprising about 50 people, has been subjected to near-daily settler harassment in recent months. During the reporting period, on 23 July, settlers broke into a storage tent and stole approximately 70 kilograms of hay, and 1,000 kilograms of barley intended for livestock – enough to sustain the community’s animals for about three months. On 28 July, settlers vandalized the main water pipe supplying the community and blocked the road connecting Tubas city and Ibziq with an earthmound, leaving the entire community without access to water and basic services for a second consecutive day, as of the time of reporting.
  • In Hammamat al Maleh – Al Meiteh herding community in Tubas governorate, Israeli settlers damaged vital solar infrastructure, affecting a community where two families were displaced the previous week following repeated settler violence. On 24 July, a group of settlers destroyed 12 solar panels from a system supplying electricity to at least 13 households, directly affecting more than 60 people. According to affected families, settlers from nearby settlement outposts have been assaulting community members on a near-daily basis. As a result, some families have begun relocating large portions of their herds, fearing further attacks and the potential seizure of livestock. This incident follows an attack on 17 July involving physical assaults, livestock theft, and property damage, which resulted in the displacement of two families comprising ten people, including five children.
  • In At Tayba village in Ramallah governorate, on 28 July, Israeli settlers reportedly from a newly established settlement outpost east of the village raided the village and set fire to two vehicles parked in front of Palestinian homes and spray-painted anti-Palestinian slogans on a house wall. This incident follows a series of settler attacks reported earlier in July in the same area. On 11 and 17 July, settlers grazed livestock in and around residential areas as well as Al Khader Church and the town cemetery, set fire to nearby lands, and vandalized Palestinian-owned olive groves, damaging trees, crops, and communal property.
• For key figures and additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2005 and June 2025, please refer to the OCHA West Bank June 2025 Snapshot.

Northern West Bank Operations

• According to the Palestinian District Coordination and Liaison Office (DCL), on 27 July, Israeli authorities delivered a military order declaring a wooded area adjacent to Nur Shams Camp as a “closed military zone” until 31 October 2025. The area is located about 20 meters north of the camp and does not contain buildings, but people often use it to observe the camp from a distance. The order prohibits the entry or presence of Palestinians in the area without a special permit. In another development in Nur Shams Camp, on 28 July, Israeli forces informed the Palestinian DCL that several displaced families from the Jabal as Salihin neighbourhood, located close to the southeastern edge of Nur Shams Camp and partially overlapping with the Thinnabah neighbourhood, may be allowed to return to their homes. According to local sources, nearly 15 families returned on 29 July, but were forced to leave again on 30 July after Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinians who were present in the area.
• In Jenin city, on 26 July, Israeli forces searched homes for three hours in Al Hadaf neighbourhood, located near the western side of Jenin refugee camp. During the operation, approximately eight Palestinian families were temporarily evacuated from their homes by the forces. Once the forces withdrew, all families were able to return. On 28 July, local sources reported observing smoke coming from a house fire in the Damaj neighbourhood within the camp. The cause of the fire remains unknown, as access to the camp is prohibited. It also remains unclear whether demolition activities within the camp have continued during the reporting period. Infrastructure rehabilitation and asphalting works by the municipality and the Ministry of Public Works continue in the southern, northern, and eastern areas of Jenin city; however, no rehabilitation works have been allowed to take place within or in the vicinity of the refugee camp.

Funding

• As of 29 July 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$852 million out of the $4 billion (21 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 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 June 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 122 ongoing projects, totalling $70.1 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (87 per cent) and the West Bank (13 per cent). Of these projects, 58 are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 48 by national NGOs and 16 by UN agencies. Notably, 42 out of the 74 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.