As hundreds of thousands of Palestinians move back to northern Gaza, violence and displacement continue to afflict both Gaza and the West Bank, raising more concerns about violations of international law and renewing calls for an immediate end to all violence and accountability.

On the move in Gaza

With the return of possibly hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to northern Gaza, the UN Human Rights Office reaffirms the rights of Palestinians to safety, protection, and dignity on their way back to what is left of their homes.

The journey is difficult, with many unable to afford transportation and forced to walk long distances with unreliable telecommunication networks and no available toilets. This is particularly hard for the most vulnerable groups and the families who support them, including children, pregnant women, older people, and people with disabilities forced to make the journey without adequate assistance. Reports raise concern about an increasing number of children being separated from their families while on the move.

As the occupying power, Israel has the obligation to ensure the provision of shelter, food and medical care and to restore and maintain public order and normal civil life for the Palestinian people. Israel is also prohibited from subjecting Palestinians to deportation outside the Occupied Palestinian Territory or forcible transfer within it.

Killings continue around “buffer zones”

The continued killings of Palestinians since the beginning of the ceasefire in and around vaguely defined and poorly communicated “buffer zones” in Gaza, particularly in the vicinity of the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors and along the eastern barrier fence, is cause for alarm.

As of 27 January, the Israeli military reportedly killed at least 14 Palestinians, including 2 boys and 1 girl, mostly around these so-called “buffer zones” since the onset of the ceasefire on 19 January. Among those killed are two Palestinian brothers, including a boy, who were killed while reportedly checking their home in Rafah outside of such a zone.

The Israeli military remains bound by international humanitarian law’s principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions, as well as the relevant human rights rules on use of force applicable to law enforcement. As a matter of urgency, it must take immediate steps to ensure its rules of engagement prevent further unlawful civilian deaths.

Growing violence in the West Bank

Accountability and adherence to international law are also urgently needed in the West Bank, where a large-scale operation is unfolding with devastating consequences for Palestinians, both in terms of violence and displacement. Since 19 January, Israeli security forces killed 20 Palestinians including a 16-year-old boy in East Jerusalem on Monday.

Deadly operation in Jenin

An Israeli operation has continued in Jenin since 21 January with deadly consequences and was extended this week to Tulkarem. Israeli security forces have so far killed at least 18 Palestinians in this operation, most of whom are reportedly unarmed.

This includes a two-year-old girl who was shot dead in her home by Israeli security forces on Saturday.

After weeks of siege and use of force by both the Israeli and Palestinian security forces, 3,000 families from the Jenin Refugee Camp have been forced to flee – about 80 percent of total Camp residents. The remaining families are living in grave danger with no access to water, electricity, and other basic services.

Videos circulating on the internet and reported by the media show evidence of Israeli security forces targeting Palestinians clearly posing no threat to life or limb. The use of tactics and weapons developed for war such as airstrikes in the West Bank where there are no active hostilities violates the international human rights law standards applicable to law enforcement.

On Monday afternoon, the Israeli military expanded its operations to Tulkarem and its two refugee camps, where further destruction of roads and infrastructure is reportedly ongoing. According to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office, several Palestinian families were already forced to leave their homes by the Israeli military for the duration of the operation, despite the fact they have nowhere to go in the middle of the winter.

Raids and movement restrictions continue

In addition, Israeli security forces in recent days have continued their routine raids of Palestinian communities across the West Bank including in Hebron, Nablus, and Bethlehem. Houses of Palestinian prisoners released as part of the ceasefire deal were also raided to prevent any “display of joy.”

Suffocating restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement across the West Bank persisted for the tenth consecutive day today, practically tearing communities apart and largely paralysing daily life.

Human rights central to the way forward

The continued implementation of the ceasefire deal in Gaza provides hope that an end to the horrors of the past 15 months is in sight. Israel and Palestinian armed groups must do everything in their power to make sure the ceasefire is sustainable so that the massive protection and humanitarian needs of the civilian population in Gaza can be addressed, and the process of a human rights-based recovery and reconstruction can commence.

A vital prerequisite for this goal is to ensure strict adherence to international law in this critical time. The international community must also prioritize accountability for the crimes under international law committed over the past 15 months to facilitate redress and justice for victims. To prevent recurrence, it is essential that the root causes of the conflict are addressed based on international law, in particular human rights. This includes ending Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and ensuring accountability as the basis of just and lasting peace that fulfills the rights of Palestinians and Israelis. 

Violence and restrictions in the Occupied West Bank coinciding with ceasefire implementation The UN Human Rights Office is alarmed by a wave of renewed violence perpetrated by settlers and Israeli security forces in the Occupied West Bank, coinciding with the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages and detainees. This has been accompanied by increased restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement across the West Bank, including complete closure of some checkpoints and installation of new gates, effectively confining entire communities. 

Public statements by Israeli officials warning against celebrations by Palestinian families whose detained loved ones are being released coincided with calls by settlers for gatherings and attacks at locations where detainees are returning. Settler attacks followed, on 19 January, in several towns including Sinjil, Turmus’ayya, and Qalqilya, where scores of settlers torched Palestinians’ houses and vehicles, blocked roads, and threw stones. Six Palestinians were injured in Sinjil, including three children, aged between 14 and 16. 

Also yesterday, Israeli security forces raided several Palestinian towns in the West Bank. In Sebastia, Nablus, Israeli security forces shot in the chest and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, reportedly unarmed, in the absence of confrontations or clashes. Public statements by Israeli military officials also raise concern about Israel’s plans to expand and increase operations in the Occupied West Bank. 

Israeli security forces also closed a number of checkpoints in Jericho, set up flying checkpoints in Tulkarm, and further increased searches and controls at checkpoints around Nablus and Tulkarm governorates. They additionally shutdown all entrances to Hebron, which has effectively cut off thousands of Palestinians from neighboring communities and largely prevented children from attending schools, and residents from reaching work. Thirteen new iron gates were reportedly installed at entrances of towns across the Occupied West Bank. 

Palestinian security forces detained several Palestinians, including journalists, covering the release of Palestinian detainees. 

While the ceasefire takes hold in Gaza, it is important to stress again that international law binds duty-bearers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israel has the obligation to dismantle settlements and evacuate all settlers from the Occupied West Bank and end its unlawful presence across the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible. In the meantime, Israel has an obligation as the occupying power to ensure the protection of Palestinians from all acts of violence. 

Furthermore, Israeli and Palestinian security forces must ensure Palestinians’ ability to exercise the full range of their human rights, including freedoms of expression, assembly and movement. They must also ensure their conduct complies with international human rights law, including strict adherence to the rules on the use of force applicable to law enforcement operations. This includes immediately putting an end to the growing practice of unlawful killings of Palestinians both through targeted killings and unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, and conducting thorough, effective and transparent investigations into all possible violations to hold perpetrators accountable.

The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory condemns the Israeli airstrike on Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank on the night of Tuesday, 14 January, which claimed the lives of six Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, and injured two others. Videos circulating online reportedly show the victims eating while gathered around a bonfire, moments before the strike.

The incident follows two Israeli airstrikes last week in Tammoun, Tubas that killed five Palestinians including three children aged 8, 10 and 17. Overall, Israeli security forces and settlers killed 819 Palestinians since 7 October 2023, including 251 in airstrikes or with other explosive munitions.

Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the West Bank, is unlawful and must end. In the meantime, Israel is the occupying power bound by the rules imposed by international law on the use of force. The West Bank is not a zone of active hostilities to which international humanitarian law rules on the conduct of hostilities apply. Instead, Israel is strictly bound by international human rights law, which is applicable to the use of force during law enforcement. In this context deliberate lethal force can only be used to prevent an imminent threat to life.

The use of airstrikes, targeting individuals not posing any imminent threat, is a flagrant example of Israel’s growing use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement operations and use of unnecessary and disproportionate force in the West Bank in violation of international human rights law, with apparent disregard for Palestinian lives. Jenin, in particular, has borne the brunt of steadily intensifying violence by both Israeli and Palestinian security forces.

In the West Bank, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority must ensure that their operations minimize risk to human life. The carrying out of airstrikes, the targeted killings of “wanted” persons who are not posing an imminent threat to life, and the use of tactics that frequently result in the shooting of unarmed bystanders, including children, are in violation of the applicable international human rights law standards.

Concerns over the ongoing operations in Jenin are compounded by the Palestinian Authority’s growing crackdown on freedom of expression and opinion, which is intensifying in connection with the conduct of the Jenin operation.

Such acts include the recent banning of broadcasts by Al Jazeera in the West Bank, months after the Israeli authorities shut down Al Jazeera offices in Ramallah. Residents of Jenin also informed the UN Human Rights Office that Palestinian security forces removed many CCTV cameras from around the camp. Palestinian security forces also reportedly intimidated and banned journalists from entering to cover the PSF operations or subjected them to threats, arrests, beating and ill-treatment. There are concerns that such actions may be deliberate attempts to disrupt access to information about the situation in Jenin.

The UN Human Rights Office has also documented recent administrative orders by local officials effectively outlawing criticism of the Palestinian Authority and what appears to be a significant increase in arbitrary detentions targeting critics of the government, in particular of the Jenin operation. Reports about detention are accompanied by survivors’ testimonies and video evidence indicating torture or ill-treatment.

The repression of freedom of expression, opinion, and the press in the West Bank is not only a violation of international human rights law; it also creates an enabling environment for more violations and infringements of the rights of Palestinians.

Meanwhile on 14 January in Gaza, a reported Israeli airstrike struck and almost completely destroyed a house in Deir al Balah in Middle Gaza, killing at least 12 Palestinians, including at least 4 children and 3 women, while severely injuring others. Among those critically injured was Mr. Raafat Saliha, a long-serving member of the Independent Commission on Human Rights, while his wife and children were killed.

Israel must ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL) in Gaza, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, precautions in attack and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks, and must open independent, effective, and transparent investigations into all Israeli attacks that appear to violate fundamental principles of IHL, holding those responsible to account.

The UN Human Rights Office once again calls for full compliance with international human rights norms and standards across the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the realization of the whole range of Palestinians’ human rights. The violence and repression must stop.

The violence, displacement, and humanitarian suffering of the past 15 months has continued through the new year across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Gaza nightmare continues

In Gaza, it has been 15 months of relentless Israeli attacks that have led to the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, the displacement (often multiple times) of almost everyone across Gaza, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the collapse of public order and safety. Nobody has been spared with scores of killings of first responders, healthcare workers, journalists, local police officers, and UN staff. No place is safe with bombardment continuing to destroy homes, shelters, hospitals, schools and places of worship.

The first week of the new year was no different. Israeli airstrikes, artillery shelling and gunfire reportedly killed at least 332 Palestinians in Gaza since 1 January 2025, including women and children. The Israeli military is still issuing displacement orders, including in Middle Gaza. Airstrikes in Gaza City and Middle Gaza were particularly harsh last week, creating further insecurity and risks for Palestinians who are being forcibly displaced from northern Gaza and are seeking shelter in these areas.

In the meantime, Israel continues to impede the entry of aid into Gaza. The collapse of public order and safety, in large part a result of the Israeli military’s targeting of civilian police, also continues to make it difficult to deliver what little aid is available effectively to those most in need throughout Gaza.

Since 1 January 2025, at least two incidents were reported of Israeli airstrikes allegedly killing guards providing security to aid distribution. A 74-truck UN aid convoy was attacked last Saturday by looters who then seized 43 trucks. An Israeli airstrike on Sunday reportedly hit the tents of internally displaced persons in the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone” of Al Mawasi - Khan Yunis and killed two civilian police leaders, one of whom was allegedly in charge of aid security.

The suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is compounded by the harsh winter weather conditions with no proper shelters to stave off the cold and rain. On Monday, 6 January, a 35-day-old baby reportedly died from hypothermia bringing the total reported number of Palestinians who succumbed to the cold to eight, most of them children.

The West Bank

The deterioration of the human rights situation in the West Bank also continues into the New Year. This includes the sustained increase in violence which has so far killed 81 3Palestinians over the past 15 months, especially as a result of settler violence and Israel’s security forces’ consistent use of unlawful lethal. This has involved the growing pattern of using methods and means of warfare outside the conduct of hostilities, the use of lethal force against unarmed Palestinian bystanders, including children and women not posing any threat to life or limb, and extrajudicial executions of Palestinians “wanted” by Israel.

This is in addition to the forced displacement of Palestinians with incessant demolitions and forced evictions, the expansion of illegal settlements, severe restrictions on freedom of movement essentially tearing communities apart, and an unprecedented repression of freedoms of expression, press and opinion.

Since 1 January 2025, Israeli security forces continued daily raids of Palestinian communities reportedly killed nine Palestinians, including four children, most recently two boys aged eight and ten who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Tammun today, 8 January. 

On Friday, Israeli settlers attacked several Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank, assaulted and set fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles and seriously injured at least ten Palestinians, among them an elderly Palestinian man. On Monday, Palestinian armed men reportedly shot at Israeli vehicles near an Israeli settlement, killing three Israelis including two women aged 70 and 73 and an off-duty police officer aged 35 and injuring eight others. Threats of retaliatory violence are surfacing in the media including by senior Israeli officials.

Concerns about the conduct of the Palestinian security forces

The conduct of the Palestinian security forces also continues to be a matter of concern as an operation in Jenin Refugee Camp continued since 5 December 2024. So far, eight Palestinians were killed in the course of the operation, most of them unarmed, and six Palestinian security officers. Among those killed since the beginning of the year in Jenin are a father and his 14-yearold son who were shot to death together on Friday, 3 January. The Palestinian security forces denied responsibility for the incident.

This is happening along with a growing crackdown on the freedom of expression and press in the West Bank including the Palestinian Authority’s shutdown of Al Jazeera broadcasts, reported administrative orders banning criticism of the Palestinian Authority on social media, and reported arrests, threats and ill-treatment based on the exercise of freedom of expression.

We are reiterating our calls on the Palestinian security forces to operate within the strict limits of international human rights law and urge the conduct of transparent, thorough, and effective investigations into all killings by the Palestinian security forces.

Violations of international law must end

Fifteen months of grave breaches of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law with impunity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory cannot be allowed to continue for another year. This responsibility falls on the entire international community, especially countries with influence and leverage who can exercise pressure to protect civilians from further suffering and ensure accountability.

The UN Human Rights Office calls once again on Israel to respect its international law obligations, including as the occupying power, to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians and their unimpeded and dignified access to basic services and essential needs.

The UN Human Rights Office additionally calls for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the hostages who remain in Gaza. We remind Israel of its obligation to end its illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as per the International Court of Justice, and to stop all violations of international law including practices that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.