254 West Bank Airstrike Deaths Logged by UN Since 2023

A United Nations commission released a report on Monday detailing 254 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank caused by airstrikes between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2026. The document contrasts this figure with the six Palestinian deaths recorded from airstrikes during the same region between 2008 and October 6, 2023. The commission stated that airstrikes became more frequent after Israel launched Operation Iron Wall in January 2025. It noted that these operations focused heavily on refugee camps and areas near Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and Nablus.

The report was released against a backdrop of rising annual casualty figures. The UN data shows that almost 500 Palestinians have been killed annually in the West Bank since 2022. These numbers represent the highest totals recorded since the organization began collecting data on the topic in 2005. The commission described the military operations as a shift toward the widespread destruction of Palestinian housing and infrastructure. It cited the Israeli Defense Forces' stated aim to dismantle infrastructure that was considered to be endangering citizens and military forces.

Srinivasan Muralidhar, the Indian jurist serving as chair of the Commission of Inquiry, addressed the findings. He stated that the intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians, combined with the destruction of homes, forms part of a strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians. He added that Israel’s persistent denial of responsibility contributes to conditions of life that are unliveable.

The commission assessed the conduct of Israeli officials by analyzing their public statements. It cited Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who referred to two million Nazis in the West Bank in November 2023. In January 2025, Smotrich wrote that Fondouk, Nablus, and Jenin should look like Jabalia. The report also included a statement from IDF Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth in May 2026. Bluth reportedly said that Israeli soldiers were killing like they had not since 1967.

The document also addresses gender-based violence. The commission verified four additional cases of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees since its March 2025 report. Two of the victims were from the West Bank. One specific case involved a male detainee at Megiddo Prison in 2025 who was allegedly blindfolded and forced to remove his lower garments. The report states that guards mocked and photographed him while he suffered serious injuries, including rectal bleeding, without receiving medical treatment.

The report did not focus solely on Israeli conduct. It accused the Palestinian Authority of suppressing political dissent through arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture. The commission cited the killing of a Palestinian journalism student in Jenin refugee camp in December 2024. Witnesses said a security force member had threatened to shoot her the day before she was killed by a single shot to the neck. The commission found that key witnesses had not been asked to testify in that case.

The Palestinian Authority accepted responsibility for the death of a boy who was run over by a security forces vehicle during clashes in October 2023. The commission concluded that the PA violated the right to life and failed to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into killings. Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry called the report a propaganda document on Monday. It said the document was detached from reality and aimed at undermining Israel’s right to self-defense.

The commission also found that Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank and Gaza. It claimed that genocidal acts continued despite a ceasefire agreement that went into effect in October 2025. The report noted that Hamas was mentioned exactly twice in the document, and neither mention accused the group of committing a crime or other wrongdoing.