Violence and casualties (in and around the West Bank)
On 4 December, two Palestinian men were shot and killed by Israeli forces in Sa'ir (Hebron) next to their homes; no confrontations were reported at the time of the shooting. On 5 December, Israeli forces shot in the head and killed a Palestinian man after breaking into his apartment in Qalandiya refugee camp (Jerusalem) during a search and arrest operation.
Since 7 October, 249 Palestinians, including 65 children, have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Additionally, two Palestinians from the West Bank were killed while carrying out an attack in Israel on 30 November. Of those killed in the West Bank, 239 have been killed by Israeli forces, eight by Israeli settlers and another two have been killed either by forces or settlers. The eight-week toll represents more than half of all Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year. Already, 2023 is the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since OCHA began recording casualties in 2005.
Since 7 October, four Israelis, including three members of Israeli forces, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. An additional four were killed in West Jerusalem in a Palestinian attack (one of whom was killed by Israeli forces who misidentified him).
Two-thirds of the Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank since 7 October have occurred during search-and-arrest and other operations carried out by Israeli forces, including some – mainly in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates – involving exchanges of fire with Palestinians. More than half of the fatalities were reported in operations that did not involve armed clashes.
Since 7 October, Israeli forces have injured 3,325 Palestinians, including at least 528 children; 45 per cent of them in the context of demonstrations and 46 per cent in the context of search-and-arrest and other operations. An additional 84 Palestinians have been injured by settlers and 18 others either by Israeli forces or settlers. Some 33 per cent of those injuries have been caused with live ammunition, compared with 9 per cent in the first nine months of 2023.
Settler Violence
On 4 December, armed assailants who are known by Palestinian residents to be settlers but were wearing Israeli military uniforms, raided the community of Khirbet Zanuta (Hebron); they demolished one residential structure, two animal structures, and partially destroyed the walls of a classroom of the school in the community.
Since 7 October, OCHA has recorded 318 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties (35 incidents), damage to Palestinian-owned property (241 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (42 incidents). The weekly average of such incidents during this period stands at 39, compared with 21 incidents between 1 January and 6 October 2023. However, the number of incidents since 7 October has gradually declined from 80 incidents in the first week (7-14 October) to 18 incidents in the last (27 November - 3 December). One-third of these incidents included firearms, including shootings and threats of shootings. In nearly half of all recorded incidents, Israeli forces were either accompanying or reportedly seen as supporting the attackers.
Read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #60
“Nowhere is safe in Gaza. Not hospital, not shelters, not refugee camps. No one is safe. Not children. Not health workers. Not humanitarians. Such blatant disregard for basic humanity must stop. The fighting must stop.” (the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths). Photo by UNRWA
