ISRAELI security forces and settlers have killed at least 964 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023, including a two-year-old girl shot in the head inside her home, the United Nations human rights office reported.
The escalating violence has displaced over 30,000 Palestinians through military operations and forced demolitions, while settler attacks have surged 13 percent in the first half of 2025, according to UN data presented at a Geneva briefing.
“Israeli settlers and security forces have intensified their killings, attacks and harassment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the past weeks,” said Thameen Al-Kheetan, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson, condemning what he called violations of international law.
Children Among the Dead
The casualties include Laila Khatib, a two-year-old shot in the head by Israeli forces on January 25 while inside her house in Ash-Shuhada village, Jenin. Three-year-old Walid Badir, 61, was killed on July 3 while cycling home from prayers near the Nur Shams refugee camp.
Israeli forces have repeatedly fired live ammunition at unarmed Palestinians, including those attempting to return to their homes in the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, the UN reported.
The UN spokesperson said Israeli security forces “have often used unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force against Palestinians who did not pose an imminent threat to life.”
During the same period, 53 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or armed clashes—35 in the West Bank and 18 in Israel.
‘Highest Injury Toll in Two Decades’
June marked the highest monthly injury toll of Palestinians in over two decades, with 96 Palestinians wounded by Israeli settlers alone. Since January, 757 settler attacks have resulted in Palestinian casualties or property damage—a 13 percent increase from the same period last year.
Israel’s military operation “Iron Wall,” launched earlier this year in the northern West Bank, has left approximately 30,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced from their homes.
Mass Demolitions Target 1,400 Homes
Israeli forces have issued demolition orders for about 1,400 homes since launching Operation “Iron Wall,” contributing to what the UN called the “ongoing consolidation of annexation of West Bank territory by Israel.”
These demolitions have displaced 2,907 Palestinians across the West Bank since October 7, 2023. Another 2,400 Palestinians—nearly half of them children—have been forced from their homes by settler actions, “emptying large parts of the West Bank of Palestinians,” Al-Kheetan said.
The UN spokesperson warned that “permanently displacing the civilian population within occupied territory amounts to unlawful transfer, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and, depending on the circumstances, may also amount to a crime against humanity.”
UN Demands Immediate Action
Al-Kheetan demanded Israel “immediately stop these killings, harassment and home demolitions across the occupied Palestinian territory.”
As the occupying power, Israel must protect Palestinians from settler attacks and end unlawful use of force by its security forces, he said. The UN called for “thorough, independent and transparent investigations into all killings and all other alleged violations of international law.”
The spokesperson also demanded that Israel end its presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, citing the International Court of Justice advisory opinion requiring withdrawal.
