The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) voiced extreme concern over the escalating violence and tensions in the West Bank as well as the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In its latest situation update, the OCHA said since the war erupted on October 7,168 Palestinians, including 46 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank till date.

“The number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since October 7 accounts for 42 per cent of all Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank in 2023 (416),” the UN body said in the update. About 59 per cent of the overall fatalities occurred during confrontations that followed Israeli search-and-arrest operations, primarily in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates, it said.