Humanitarian Situation Update #333 | 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 29 or 30 October.

Key Highlights

• Forty children have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2025, including a nine-year-old boy in Hebron governorate on 16 October.
• Israeli forces have continued to carry out large-scale raids across the northern West Bank, especially affecting Jenin governorate where 65 Palestinians have been killed, or about a third of all fatalities in the West Bank in 2025.
• OCHA has documented 86 settler attacks related to the olive harvest season against Palestinian farmers and families across 50 villages and towns since early October, disrupting harvesting activities, injuring some 112 Palestinians, and vandalizing more than 3,000 trees and saplings.
• More than 90 education-related incidents in the West Bank disrupted learning for more than 12,000 students between July and September 2025, the Education Cluster reports.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 14 and 20 October, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including one child, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. During the same period, 81 Palestinians, including 10 children and 11 women, and two Israeli soldiers were injured. Of the injured Palestinians, 59 were by Israeli forces and 22 by Israeli settlers. The following are details of the incidents that resulted in fatalities:
  • On 16 October, Israeli forces killed a nine-year-old Palestinian child in Ar Rihiya village, south of Hebron city, during a raid in which Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters at Palestinians and Palestinians threw stones at the forces. According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the boy was shot by Israeli forces while playing football. According to Israeli media sources, the Israeli military has opened an investigation into the incident. This fatality brings to 40 the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of 2025 across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, accounting for one in every five Palestinians killed during this period (40 children out of 198 Palestinians killed).
  • On 16 October, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during a raid in Qabatiya town, south of Jenin city. After he was shot, the man was treated on site by medical teams and then transported to the town’s clinic, where he was pronounced dead. According to the Israeli military, its troops shot at a man who threw an explosive device at them. No casualties were reported among Israeli forces. Since the beginning of the year, 65 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin governorate, the highest number among all governorates and representing about one-third of the 198 Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank so far in 2025.
  • On 19 October, during the early morning hours, undercover Israeli forces raided Ein Beit al-Ma’ refugee camp in Nablus city, surrounded a residential building and opened fire. According to community sources, a Palestinian man, a father of four, was fatally shot by Israeli forces inside his home in another building. According to medical sources, Israeli forces delayed medical teams trying to reach the shot man and physically assaulted a paramedic. A female relative of the killed Palestinian was also physically assaulted by Israeli forces. Another man was shot, injured and arrested by Israeli forces.
• On 19 October, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, a Palestinian prisoner from Jenin refugee camp, in Jenin governorate, who had been detained since February 2025, died in Israeli custody. As of early October 2025, according to data provided by the Israel prison service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there were 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 OHCHR, between 7 October 2023 and 17 October 2025, at least 77 Palestinians, including a 17-year-old child, died in Israeli detention, including 49 from the Gaza Strip, 26 from the West Bank and two Palestinian citizens of Israel.
• On 15 October, a Palestinian man from Az Zababdeh town, in Jenin governorate, died after being detained by Israeli forces while attempting to cross the Barrier near Ar Ram town in East Jerusalem. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. His body was later handed over to Palestinian medical teams and transferred to a hospital in the West Bank. During the reporting period, nine Palestinians were injured across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while they were attempting to cross the Barrier to reach East Jerusalem and Israel, including one in Hebron governorate, seven in Jerusalem, and one in Qalqiliya. 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 153 incidents in which 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 14 Palestinians and the injury of about 190 others by Israeli forces, have occurred against the backdrop of a severe economic downturn in the West Bank.
• According to OHCHR in OPT, between 7 October 2023 and 20 October 2025, 1,001 Palestinians, including 213 children (206 boys and seven girls), 20 women, and at least seven persons with disabilities, have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This figure represents 43 per cent of all Palestinians killed in the West Bank over the past two decades. The Office attributed most of these fatalities to “the systematic and excessive use of lethal force by Israeli forces, often involving live fire, airstrikes, and shoulder-fired missiles in densely populated areas, resulting in numerous civilian deaths, including children.” It also reported that 331 of these killings raise serious concerns of extrajudicial executions, and in at least 244 cases, Israeli forces delayed or obstructed medical assistance to the injured. The report further highlighted that settler attacks have reached unprecedented levels, with 33 Palestinians, including three children, killed by settlers or by settlers and Israeli forces acting together. The Office noted that Israeli authorities have rarely initiated or concluded investigations into incidents involving the use of lethal force or settler violence, perpetuating a pattern of impunity and raising grave concerns about the protection of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
• During the reporting period, OCHA documented the demolition of five Palestinian-owned structures due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain, displacing five people, including a child. These included an under-construction two-storey residential building and three agricultural structures in Area C and one home demolished by its owners in East Jerusalem. Since the beginning of 2025, OCHA has documented the demolition of over 1,300 structures, including more than 300 inhabited residential structures, in the West Bank due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits.

Operations in the Northern West Bank

• In the northern West Bank, Israeli forces continued large-scale operations across cities, towns, and villages as part of the ongoing operation that began in early 2025. These raids have involved extensive search operations, detention, property damage, and restrictions on movement.
• In Jenin governorate, Israeli forces have intensified operations since 25 September, conducting frequent daytime patrols and raids in Jenin city and surrounding areas, including searches of commercial and residential buildings. On 14 October, Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian woman in the leg during a raid in Qabatiya town, south of Jenin city. The woman was transferred to hospital for treatment. During the operation, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters, while Palestinians threw stones. On 20 October, at night, Israeli forces detained six Palestinian youths, between 16 and 18 years of age, in the Jabriyat area, between Birqin village and Jenin refugee camp. The six were held overnight and released the following evening, including five who were transferred to hospital for medical treatment.
• In Qalqiliya governorate, on 16 October, Israeli forces conducted a 17-hour operation in Kafr Qaddum town, east of Qalqiliya city. Late at night, forces raided the town, closed all its entrances with military vehicles, searched several homes, and took over two houses, turning them into military posts without evacuating their residents. Movement of people within the town was restricted throughout the operation, and several Palestinians were reportedly physically assaulted by Israeli forces, including two who received medical treatment on site. Five Palestinians were arrested. On the same day, during the daytime, Israeli forces carried out multiple raids in Qalqiliya city, searching homes and interrogating residents. Confrontations ensued, during which Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters, while Palestinians threw stones. One Palestinian was treated for tear gas inhalation, and four others were arrested.
• In Tubas governorate, on 18 October, an explosive device detonated in the centre of Tubas city, injuring two Israeli soldiers during a raid by forces. Following the explosion, Israeli forces, accompanied by two military bulldozers, carried out an 11-hour raid in the city, searching at least five homes, damaging roads, water infrastructure and other property, and blocking two main roads linking Tubas city and Tammun town with earth mounds. The closures disrupted movement and water supply for about 24 hours, affecting more than 10,000 residents. During the operation, Israeli forces detonated an explosive device inside an apartment in a residential building after ordering residents to evacuate. The explosion caused partial damage to the apartment, but no displacement was reported. The operation concluded with the arrest of a Palestinian man.
• In Tulkarm governorate, on 19 October, nearly 35 families residing in three residential buildings in northern Tulkarm city returned to their homes after they were informed by Israeli authorities, through the Palestinian District Coordination Liaison (DCL), that they could do so. These families had been displaced by Israeli forces since March 2025, amid ongoing operations in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps. Since that time, the three residential buildings had been used by Israeli forces as military observation points.

Israeli Settler Attacks

• Between 14 and 20 October, OCHA documented 49 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both. More than 65 per cent of the attacks (32) occurred in the context of the olive harvest season, which officially started on 9 October, affecting Palestinians in 25 villages and towns. The attacks led to the injury of 49 Palestinians and two international activists accompanying Palestinian olive harvesters. Of the injured Palestinians, 26 were injured by Israeli forces, mostly due to tear gas inhalation, 22 by Israeli settlers, and one woman was injured while trying to escape a settler attack. Over 200 Palestinian-owned olive trees and 18 vehicles were vandalized. Moreover, according to Israeli media reports, on 17 October, Palestinians shot live ammunition at an Israeli motorcycle travelling along Road 60, in Ramallah governorate, causing damage.
• Key incidents of Israeli settler attacks that caused injuries, damage to property and displacement between 14 and 20 October include:
  • On 18 October, settlers physically assaulted and injured with sticks and stones a Palestinian couple (aged 64 and 58 years) while they were working on their land near Susiya village, in Hebron governorate.
  • On 18 October, Israeli settlers raided a Palestinian Bedouin community on the outskirts of Deir Nidham village, in Ramallah governorate, and threw stones at residential houses, damaging glass windows. According to village residents, following the establishment of a settlement outpost near the village in late July 2025, attacks by Israeli settlers have escalated, including frequent raids into the village, stone throwing at houses at night, and restrictions on Palestinian access to nearby agricultural lands and pastures.
  • On 20 October, Israeli settlers from a newly established settlement outpost broke into Palestinian homes and other structures in Furush Beit Dajan, in Area C of Nablus governorate, stole belongings and damaged solar lights. The structures belonged to four out of 29 herding families – comprising 139 people including 66 children – who were displaced on 8 October due to frequent settler attacks and intimidation; the families had dismantled most of their structures and relocated to several areas in Jericho, Ramallah and Nablus governorates. Following the 20 October incident, four families went back to their community to dismantle what remains of their structures and collect belongings, but they were forced to leave by Israeli settlers who set up an outpost in the community on 19 October. Since October 2023, more than 3,200 Palestinians, including over 1,600 children, have been forcibly displaced due to settler violence and access restrictions, mainly affecting Bedouin and herding communities in Area C of the West Bank.

2025 Olive Harvest Season

• Since the beginning of October 2025, some 86 olive-harvest-related settler attacks resulting in casualties and/or property damage have been recorded, including several incidents reported in the days before the official start of the season on 9 October. Incidents entailed attacks on farmers inside or on their way to olive groves, theft of crops and harvesting equipment, and vandalism of olive trees. In total, 50 villages and towns have been affected by a range of attacks that resulted in the injury of 112 Palestinians (including 50 by Israeli settlers and 62 by Israeli forces) and vandalism of over 3,000 trees and saplings, mainly olives. This is compared with 80 incidents in 48 villages and towns that led to the injury of 50 Palestinians (including 44 by Israeli settlers and six by Israeli forces) and vandalism of more than 1,000 trees and saplings during the corresponding period in 2024.
• Palestinian DCLs have been submitting to Israeli authorities the requests of Palestinian farmers for permits to access olive groves in the so-called “Seam Zone” areas located between the Barrier and the 1949 Armistice Line. For areas where permits have already been issued, farmers reported limited opening days and hours of Barrier gates, long waiting times, extensive searches, and occasional denials of access at the gates by Israeli forces. Access to lands near Israeli settlements has followed a similar pattern of restrictions. For instance, in the Ramallah governorate, some farmers were granted access to their lands for a limited number of days, such as farmers from Ein Yabrud village who were granted access to their lands near Ofra settlement only between 20 and 22 October and others from Sinjil village who are scheduled to access their lands near Ma’ale Levona settlement between 27 and 30 October. In the northern West Bank, similar to the situation over the past two years, no requests for access to Palestinian land inside or within 100-200 metres of settlement boundaries have been approved through “prior coordination” with Israeli authorities. In the southern West Bank, initial information indicates that no prior coordination requests for accessing agricultural lands near settlements have been approved to date. Overall, the coordination schedule for agricultural access is still pending finalization and this process is expected to continue through mid-November.
• In the past week, the majority of olive-harvest-related settler attacks occurred in the central West Bank, with 17 recorded incidents in 14 villages and towns, the majority in the Ramallah governorate. In one attack carried out by masked settlers on 19 October in the area between the villages of Turmusa’yya, Al Mughayyir and Khirbet Abu Falah, settlers attacked families with stones and sticks while they were harvesting olives, set two olive trees and four vehicles on fire, and stole at least three bags of harvested olives. They chased two men in their vehicle and attacked them with sticks, injuring one in the head, then set the vehicle on fire. Another group of settlers approached families and hit a 71-year-old woman with a club on the head, causing her to lose consciousness. A foreign activist who attempted to assist the woman was also attacked and physically assaulted.
• Incidents in the northern West Bank accounted for the second-largest number of attacks, with 12 recorded incidents across 10 villages in Salfit, Tulkarm, Nablus, Jenin and Qalqiliya governorates. The incidents resulted in the injury of 19 Palestinians, including 11 due to tear gas inhalation by Israeli forces and others due to physical assaults by Israeli settlers or forces, and damage to 10 olive trees. In one attack on 17 October, dozens of Israeli settlers, some of whom were armed, raided the eastern side of Qabalan village, southeast of Nablus, where 12 Palestinian families were harvesting olives, and opened fire. Settlers then physically assaulted and injured three people, including a 10-year-old child, and vandalized four Palestinian vehicles.
• For key figures and additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2005 and September 2025, please refer to the OCHA West Bank September 2025 Snapshot.

Challenges facing Access to Education

• As of 20 October, 85 schools across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are under pending demolition or stop-work orders, of which 55 face full demolition, while 30 are subject to partial orders affecting specific structures, according to the Education Cluster. These orders, if implemented, threaten the education of over 13,000 students, including 6,557 girls, who are supported by 1,089 teachers, 649 of whom are female, the Cluster added. In addition, numerous other schools, although not under active demolition orders, remain at serious risk due to being located in Area C communities that face the threat of forced displacement.
• Between July and September 2025, the Education Cluster documented 93 education-related incidents, the majority of which entailed access impediments (40 per cent) and the entry of military forces into schools (38 per cent) and took place inside or around school premises and on the way to or from schools. Access incidents include those where operations by Israeli forces have forced school closures and shifts to remote learning. In total, the incidents affected 68 schools, including 63 government schools and five UNRWA schools, 12,020 students, and 700 teachers. About 41 per cent of the incidents took place in Areas A and B, 34 per cent in Area C, 23 per cent in the H2 area of Hebron city, and two per cent in East Jerusalem. The Hebron governorate accounted for more than half of all incidents (48 out of the total 93 education-related incidents), particularly in the H2 area, where 21 incidents were documented. The Education Cluster further notes that “reporting from East Jerusalem remains limited due to access restrictions, security concerns, and threats faced by schools from Israeli authorities, which continue to hinder comprehensive data collection in the area.”
• Furthermore, access to education has been interrupted this year for more than 4,000 students at 10 UNRWA schools in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps which remain closed due the ongoing Israeli forces’ operation that began in January 2025. Most of the affected students are instead relying on alternative education modalities, including remote learning, self-study materials, and temporary learning spaces. In addition, out of four government schools near Jenin camp that were closed, two schools serving more than 1,100 secondary-level students were re-opened, following coordination between the Palestinian District Coordination and Liaison Office (DCL) and Israeli authorities, and two remain closed, forcing about 1,130 students to be temporally reallocated to different schools. In Tulkarm, all government schools near Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps have re-opened.

Funding

• As of 22 October 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$1.3 billion out of the $4 billion (32 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 under the 2025 Flash Appeal for the OPT. Nearly 88 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian responses in Gaza, with just over 12 per cent for the West Bank. During September 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 95 ongoing projects, totaling $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.