Humanitarian Situation Update #330 | 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 Wednesday. The next Humanitarian Situation Update on the West Bank will be published on 15 or 16 October.

Key Highlights

• Since 7 October 2023, 999 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers, and 41 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank.
• During the same period, 13 Palestinians have been killed and about 170 injured while crossing the Barrier amid suspended work permits, as the West Bank faces its worst economic downturn in decades.
• As the 2025 olive harvest season begins, over 60 communities mainly in Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, and Salfit governorates remain at high risk of settler attacks and restrictions while trying to access their agricultural land.
• Over 10,000 Palestinians have been displaced by demolitions, settler attacks and access restrictions since 7 October 2023.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 30 September and 6 October, one Palestinian man was killed in a ramming attack against Israeli forces. On 2 October, two Palestinian men allegedly attempted to ram their vehicle into Israeli soldiers stationed at Beit ‘Ur al Fauqa checkpoint near Route 443 in Ramallah governorate. Israeli forces opened fire, killing one man and injuring and arresting the other. No Israeli injuries were reported. The body of the deceased remains withheld by Israeli authorities, bringing the total number of Palestinian bodies withheld by Israeli authorities from the West Bank since 7 October 2023 to 201, of which seven have been handed over and 194 remain withheld. Later the same day, Israeli forces raided Kafr Ni’ma village, in Ramallah governorate, the hometown of the killed man, and arrested his mother and brother, who were released on the same day.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 6 October 2025, 999 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, including two who died of wounds sustained prior to 7 October. Of the total, 967 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, 20 by Israeli settlers, and 12 where it remains unknown whether the perpetrators were Israeli forces or settlers. About half of the 967 fatalities caused by Israeli forces were recorded in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates. During the same period, Palestinians killed 41 Israelis, including 22 members of Israeli forces, in the West Bank. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the killing of 17 Israelis and nine Palestinian perpetrators, in addition to a Palestinian killed in an attack by Israelis in West Jerusalem.
• On 6 October, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, a Palestinian prisoner from Adh Dhahiriya town in Hebron governorate, who had been detained since May 2024, died in Israeli custody. As of October 2025, according to data provided by the Israel prison service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there are 11,056 Palestinians in Israeli custody, including 1,461 sentenced prisoners, 3,378 remand detainees, 3,544 administrative detainees held without trial, and 2,673 people held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained by the Israeli military since 7 October 2023. According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), between 7 October 2023 and 31 August 2025, at least 75 Palestinians, including a 17-year-old child, died in Israeli detention, including 49 from the Gaza Strip, 24 from the West Bank and two Palestinian citizens of Israel.
• Between 30 September and 6 October, two Israeli settler children were injured in the West Bank. On 30 September, a Palestinian man carried out a ramming attack on Road 60 near Husan junction in Bethlehem governorate, injuring two Israeli settler children. Israeli forces shot and injured the driver after he exited his vehicle. Following the incident, Israeli forces raided his home, carried out a search operation, and imposed movement restrictions across nearby villages, disrupting residents’ access to basic services for about two hours. Since 7 October 2023, 22 Israelis, including 18 Israeli settlers and four members of Israeli forces, were killed and 98 Israelis, including 84 Israeli settlers and 14 members of Israeli forces, were injured in attacks by Palestinians against Israeli settlers in the West Bank. These include 12 Israelis killed and 40 injured in attacks by Palestinians against Israeli settlers so far in 2025.
• During the same reporting period, 38 Palestinians, including five children and two women, were injured across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among the injured were eight Palestinian men who were attempting to cross the Barrier to reach East Jerusalem and Israel, including five in Bethlehem governorate, two in Jerusalem, and one in Hebron. Since 7 October 2023, when Israeli authorities revoked or suspended most permits issued for Palestinian workers and others to gain access to East Jerusalem and Israel, OCHA has documented 126 incidents where Palestinians were killed or injured while trying to cross the Barrier, reportedly to access workplaces in East Jerusalem and Israel. These incidents, which resulted in the killing of 13 Palestinians and the injury of about 170 others by Israeli forces, have occurred against the backdrop of a severe economic downturn in the West Bank.
• In a report issued on 29 August, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the West Bank economy witnessed an unprecedented shock in the aftermath of 7 October 2023, whereby “Israel intensified long-standing movement restrictions, imposed widespread closures, and conducted military and security operations.” “Concurrently, Palestinian workers were barred from their workplaces in Israel and settlements, and Israel further continued and intensified unilateral deductions from Palestinian clearance revenues,” UNCTAD added. Consequently, between the third and fourth quarters of 2023, employment in Israel and settlements fell sharply from 171,700 to just 25,000 workers. In 2024, GDP per capita fell by 21 per cent and unemployment surged to 32 per cent (nearly three times the rate recorded in September 2023). By the end of 2024, GDP regressed to 2014 levels, with per capita GDP dropping to figures last seen in 2008.
• On 6 October, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that, in September 2025, it provided assistance to vulnerable people across the West Bank as part of its emergency response to the ongoing crisis. More than 116,000 people received emergency food vouchers under WFP’s shock response plan, in addition to over 183,000 people supported through the programme’s regular voucher scheme, providing ILS 50 (about US$14.5) per person to enhance food security and dietary diversity. WFP also delivered cash assistance to about 4,000 workers from Gaza stranded in the West Bank to enable them to purchase food from local shops. In parallel, more than 1,900 people (395 households) displaced by Israeli forces’ operations across the West Bank received a second round of cash transfers, valued at ILS 1,680 (US$450) per household, to help meet their essential needs.

Lack-of-Permit and Punitive Demolitions

• Between 30 September and 6 October, OCHA documented the demolition of 13 Palestinian-owned structures for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. Of the total, 12 structures were in Area C and one in East Jerusalem, including seven residential structures and six agricultural and livelihood structures. The demolitions led to the displacement of 14 people, including six children, and affected the livelihoods of at least 30 people.
• Five people, including a child, were displaced on 6 October in East Jerusalem after a family was forced to demolish its house in the Bab az Zahira area of the Old City of Jerusalem, to avoid the payment of additional fines to the Israeli authorities. Earlier on 30 September, Israeli authorities demolished three houses in Bruqin, in Salfit governorate, displacing nine people, including five children. Also in Area C, Israeli authorities demolished five structures, including two animal shelters and three under- construction residential structures, in An Nabi Musa Bedouin community, in Jericho governorate, four of which had been recently built by a family from Al Hathroura Bedouin community in preparation for their seasonal relocation next month.
• Separately, on 6 October 2025, Israeli authorities used explosives to demolish on punitive grounds an apartment located in a five-story building near Farsh Alhawa area in Area A of Hebron city. The demolished residential apartment belongs to the family of a Palestinian man accused of supporting two other Palestinians in carrying out a shooting attack in Jaffa city, in Israel, on 1 October 2024 that killed six Israelis and a foreigner and injured 16 others. The man had been detained by Israeli forces and remains in custody. During the operation, Israeli forces raided Hebron city at about midnight, closed off the area near the house, and evacuated at least 20 families from the surrounding buildings. As a result, a family of three people, including a child, was displaced. This is the fourth house to be punitively demolished in Hebron city in relation to same attack in Jaffa. Other apartments in the same building sustained damage (mainly furniture and electrical appliances).
• Between 7 October 2023 and 6 October 2025, Israeli authorities destroyed, confiscated, sealed or forced the demolition of about 3,590 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing more than 7,100 Palestinians, including about 3,000 children. These include more than 3,400 Palestinians displaced due to the destruction of homes during operations by Israeli forces, more than 3,200 Palestinians displaced by lack-of-permit demolitions, and more than 400 people displaced by demolitions on punitive and other grounds.

Operations in the Northern West Bank

• Israeli forces continued to carry out operations across cities, towns, and villages in the northern West Bank, with a marked intensification since 25 September in Jenin city as part of the ongoing Israeli forces’ operation in the area since January 2025. Over the past week, Israeli forces carried out daytime patrols in the city centre and areas adjacent to Jenin refugee camp and repeatedly raided commercial shops, pharmacies and residential homes, contributing to a prevailing sense of insecurity among residents. On 2 October, Israeli forces shot and injured two Palestinians, including a child, during a raid in Jenin city (counted under injuries above) and on 6 October, Israeli forces detained the crew of Palestine TV channel. The reporter, cameraman, and driver were blindfolded, handcuffed, and physically and verbally assaulted by Israeli forces before being released several hours later.
• On 1 and 2 October, Israeli forces carried out several raids in Al Yamun village, west of Jenin city, during which they obstructed medical access and converted a residential building into a temporary military post. On 1 October, Israeli forces raided the village and took over a house, turning it into a military post without evacuating the residents. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) dispatched an ambulance after being informed that the homeowner, who suffers from a heart condition, required urgent medical evacuation. Israeli forces assaulted the ambulance crew and seized the ambulance, PRCS reported. The patient was only permitted to be transferred to the hospital the following morning, according to community sources. The following day, on 2 October, Israeli forces took over another residential building in Al Yamun village centre, confined its occupants to one room, and stationed sniper units on the rooftop for about 14 hours before withdrawing.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 1 January and 15 September 2025, more than 200 attacks on health care were documented across the West Bank, 22 per cent of which occurred in Jenin governorate, the second highest after Nablus (30 per cent).

Israeli Settler Attacks

• Between 30 September and 6 October, OCHA documented 25 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both, at least 13 of which were in the context of the olive harvest season (more details below). These attacks led to the injury of eight Palestinians, six were physically assaulted by Israeli settlers and two shot by Israeli forces, and the vandalism of about 400 Palestinian-owned olive trees and saplings and four vehicles.
• The following are key Israeli settler attacks documented during the reporting period, excluding those related to the olive harvest season (which are detailed in the next section):
  • On 29 September and 5 October, in two Palestinian Bedouin communities in Jerusalem governorate, settlers were recorded on camera breaking into a livestock shelter and stealing 58 heads of sheep in Al Muntar, and stealing a water tank near a residential structure in Mikhmas Bedouin community. Al Muntar is one of 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities in eastern Jerusalem governorate directly affected by the E1 settlement plan, which if implemented would heighten the risk of forced displacement of these communities.
  • On 4 October, settlers, some armed, raided Deir Jarir village, in Ramallah governorate, gathering near homes and intimidating residents, including children. They damaged trees and plant pots at the entrance of one house, where children were playing, and threw stones at Palestinian homes, damaging the windshield of a parked vehicle. When Palestinians gathered to encounter the settlers, Israeli forces intervened and opened fire with live ammunition toward the Palestinian residents and their houses. During the raid, two Palestinians were injured, one shot in the chest and another in the leg by Israeli forces, and two houses, one vehicle and a water tank sustained damage.
  • In two incidents on 4 and 6 October, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured two elderly Palestinian women, one during a raid in Umm al Kheir herding community in Hebron governorate, and another in Ibziq herding community in Nablus governorate.
• Settlers continue to attack Palestinian water-related infrastructure:
  • On 1 October, settlers raided the water wells unit in the spring area of Ein Samiya, causing damage to the surveillance system connected to the central monitoring system at the Jerusalem Water Undertaking (JWU), thus disrupting the functioning of the water stations and wells. As a result, the primary water supply for about 20 villages, serving an estimated population of approximately 100,000 Palestinians, was cut off for a day before repairs were made and services were restored. So far in 2025, OCHA has documented nine attacks in which settlers infiltrated the spring area in Ein Samiya, damaged surveillance cameras, stole equipment belonging to the Jerusalem Water Undertaking (JWU), and assaulted maintenance staff who arrived to carry out repairs.
  • In three incidents in Duma village, in Nablus governorate, Israeli settlers, some armed, believed to be from a newly established outpost erected about two months ago, raided the two Palestinian herding communities of Ejwar/Shajara and Shakara. On 2 October, in Ejwar/Shajara, where families from Ein Ar Rashash Bedouin community moved following their displacement due to settler attacks in October 2023, settlers emptied the families’ water tanks and cut down water pipelines, forcing the community to depend on water trucking for five days. On 4 and 6 October, in Shakara, settlers emptied the families’ water tanks, leaving the community without water for three days, and vandalized a gate, about 50 metres of fencing provided as humanitarian assistance, and water meters.
• During the first nine months of this year, OCHA documented over 1,200 attacks by Israeli settlers in 246 Palestinian communities across the West Bank, resulting in casualties, property damage, or both. More than 60 per cent of these incidents occurred in the Ramallah, Nablus, and Hebron governorates, which remain the main hotspots of settler violence. The marked rise in incidents is also reflected in casualty data: 13 Palestinians have been killed in settler-related incidents so far this year, including seven by Israeli settlers, five by Israeli forces, and one where it remains unknown if the perpetrator was a member of Israeli forces or settlers. In addition, 785 Palestinians have been injured, including 556 by Israeli settlers, 220 by Israeli forces, and nine where it remains unknown if they were injured by Israeli settlers or forces. June and July 2025 recorded the highest monthly records of injuries of Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since OCHA began documenting such incidents in 2005, with about 100 Palestinians injured per month.
• About 42 per cent of Palestinian injuries in 2025 in attacks by Israeli settlers (327 out of 785) and nine out of 13 fatalities within the same context were in Ramallah governorate, particularly in towns in the eastern and northeastern parts of the governorate between Road 60 and Road 458 (also known as the Allon Road), including Al Mazra’a al Sharqiya, Al Mughayyir, Deir Dibwan, Deir Jarir, Kafr Malik, and Sinjil. Additionally, attacks by Israeli settlers in Ramallah governorate accounted for about 29 per cent of the overall number of settler attacks resulting in casualties, property damage or both across the West Bank in 2025, and for more than half of Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks and access restrictions so far this year (about 700 out of more than 1,200 people displaced).
• Between 7 October 2023 and 6 October 2025, OCHA has documented 3,112 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, of which 311 led to casualties, 2,474 led to damage to Palestinian property, and 327 led to both casualties and property damage. Since 7 October 2023, 3,095 Palestinians, including 1,544 children, have been displaced, mostly from Bedouin and herding communities, across the West Bank, citing attacks by Israeli settlers and access restrictions.

2025 Olive Harvest Season

• The annual olive harvest is a key economic, social and cultural event for Palestinians. Over the past five Olive Harvest seasons (2020–2024), settler-related attacks against Palestinians have steadily increased, despite differing contextual factors, including COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and widespread denials of access to agricultural lands near settlements or behind the Barrier in 2023. In 2024, more than 200 attacks were recorded, nearly double those in 2023 and more than three times higher than in 2022. While most incidents resulted in property damage, such as the destruction of trees, crop theft, and vandalism of agricultural tools, a growing proportion of incidents led to casualties, with the number of Palestinians injured by Israeli settlers during the Olive Harvest season more than doubling in 2024 compared with the previous year. The geographic scope of violence also expanded, with over 80 villages and towns affected in 2024, compared with an average of about 40 between 2020 and 2023. More than 60 per cent of the affected communities were concentrated in the Nablus, Ramallah, and Hebron governorates. Moreover, analysis of over 150 affected communities shows that nearly one-third experienced overlapping incidents of settler attacks and access restrictions by Israeli forces, underscoring the range of risks facing Palestinian farmers during the Olive Harvest season.
• In general, settler violence during the Olive Harvest season is concentrated in a recurring set of hotspot communities across the West Bank, many located near settlements, bypass roads, or newly established settlement outposts. OCHA, together with the Protection Cluster and humanitarian partners, has identified more than 60 communities at high risk of facing violence or harassment due to settler attacks or access restrictions during the upcoming 2025 harvest. The most affected villages and towns include parts of the Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, and Salfit governorates, which have experienced recurrent settler raids, vandalism of trees, theft of crops, intimidation of farmers and movement restrictions in previous seasons, affecting their livelihoods and physical safety.
• In light of the worsening situation, the Protection Cluster issued a Call-to-Action on 8 October, warning of a rapid deterioration in the protection environment as settler violence reaches unprecedented levels ahead of the 2025 Olive Harvest. The Cluster emphasized that the Olive Harvest season, vital to Palestinian livelihoods, income and cultural identity, has become increasingly dangerous amid expanding settlements, land-grabbing, and movement restrictions. It urged Israel, as the occupying power, to protect Palestinians from settler attacks and ensure safe humanitarian access, while calling on Member States and donors to apply diplomatic pressure, provide international presence in at-risk communities, and strengthen community protection mechanisms.
• Over the past week, at least 13 settler attacks were recorded, ahead of the official start of the season on 9 October; these incidents included attacks on harvesters, stealing crops and olive harvesting equipment and chopping off trees:
• In the northern West Bank, seven settler incidents related to the Olive Harvest were documented. In Nablus, settlers vandalized 15 olive saplings and 15 trees in Asira al Qibliya on 1 October; and on 4 October, settlers physically assaulted two Palestinian harvesters, injuring one, and stole collection sheets, olive-harvesting tools, and 200 kilogrammes of crops in Madama village. In Salfit, settlers expelled Palestinian farmers while harvesting in Farkha and Qarawat Bani Hassan villages. Two additional incidents were recorded in Qalqiliya governorate, where settlers damaged 50 olive trees in Kafr Qaddum and assaulted a Palestinian harvester and stole his two donkeys in Jinsafut village.
  • In the central West Bank, five settler incidents related to the Olive Harvest were documented in Ramallah governorate on 5 and 6 October. In three of these incidents, settlers accompanied by Israeli forces expelled Palestinians harvesting olives near Rantis and Beit ‘Ur at Tahta villages and stole their crops. In two additional incidents, settlers chopped down hundreds of olive trees belonging to residents of Turmus’ayya, Al Mughayyir, and Khirbet Abu Falah villages.
  • In the southern West Bank, one incident was recorded in Umm al Khair community in Hebron governorate, where on 6 October armed settlers wearing military uniforms raided privately-owned land, uprooted and destroyed about 150 olive trees, and dismantled a 150-metre fence surrounding the property.

Funding

• As of 8 October 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$1.14 billion out of the $4 billion (28 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 September 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 95 ongoing projects, totalling $57.1 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (87 per cent) and the West Bank (13 per cent). Of these projects, 43 are being implemented by INGOs, 38 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 32 out of the 57 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.