Throughout April, Israel continued its war on Gaza, in tandem with the complete closure of all border crossings since the resumption of hostilities on 18 March. The occupation’s military operation in the northern West Bank, ongoing since 21 January, also persisted.
In this report, the Union for Justice Foundation presents the most prominent attacks by the Israeli army and its settlers against Palestinian citizens and their lands during April 2024. The data rely on reports from the Palestinian Monitoring Group of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the Monitoring Israeli Colonizing Activities in the Palestinian Territories Project (poica(, and Peace Now.
The Genocidal War on the Gaza Strip
During April, the occupation continued its war on the Gaza Strip and broadened its ground operations, in parallel with the complete closure of all border crossings for 60 consecutive days, starting on 2 March. From 7 October 2023 until the end of April, the total number of martyrs reached 52,400, in addition to 118,014 wounded. Among these, 2,308 were killed and 5,973 were injured since the resumption of hostilities on 18 March, accompanied by renewed ground, naval, and aerial bombardment across the Strip, particularly in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis, despite its designation as a “safe area” by the Israeli army and the directive for civilians to seek refuge there.
Among the martyrs were 18,000 children, including 311 who were both born and killed during the war, 50 children who died due to malnutrition, and 17 who died from severe cold. The occupation also killed 12,400 women, 1,411 medical personnel, 113 civil defense personnel, 214 journalists, 754 police and aid security staff, and 409 humanitarian workers, including 291 United Nations employees. The Israeli army completely annihilated 2,200 Palestinian families, and partially annihilated 5,120 families, leaving only a single surviving member in each.
Israeli forces carried out several attacks on the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Khan Yunis and on Al-Durra Children’s Hospital in Gaza City, causing the latter to cease functioning. As a result, only 22 hospitals remain partially operational: four in northern Gaza, 11 in Gaza City, three in Deir al-Balah, and four in Khan Yunis. No hospital is currently operational in Rafah.
70% of the Gaza Strip’s territory has been subject to evacuation orders since 18 March, covering areas rendered inaccessible along the Strip’s borders and throughout the Wadi Gaza area, where Israeli forces have been deployed since 20 March. Together, these restricted areas constitute 50 percent of the total area of the Gaza Strip. Evacuation orders have been distributed across all the Strip’s governorates: the entirety of Rafah Governorate is designated a no-go zone, followed by 84% of North Gaza Governorate, 78% of Gaza Governorate, 51% of Khan Yunis, and 41% of Deir al-Balah. Estimates indicate that more than 423,000 Palestinians have been displaced between 18 March and the end of April.
It is estimated that 55% of the temporary learning spaces – 259 out of 570 – have closed, affecting more than 140,000 children. Additionally, 90 government schools that had reopened during the ceasefire, serving over 90,000 children, were forced to shut again. A total of 171 temporary learning sites (30% of those established during the first quarter of 2025) have closed, resulting in at least 17 months of lost school time since the resumption of hostilities following a 42-day ceasefire. During the war, 509 schools and universities were directly bombed, 13,000 students were killed, and 785,000 students were deprived of education; 800 teachers and educational staff also lost their lives.
By the end of April, 60 days had elapsed since the closure of all crossings into Gaza as part of Israel’s policy of starving the civilian population. The occupation prevented 37,400 trucks carrying aid and fuel from entering the Strip and targeted 29 soup kitchens and 37 food distribution centers. Prohibiting the entry of infant formula, nutritional supplements, and all forms of humanitarian assistance has led to more than 70,000 children being hospitalized for severe malnutrition.
Key Statistics on Occupation Violations in the West Bank and Jerusalem
Martyrs and Injured
During this month, 18 citizens were killed, including six children, one woman, and two detainees who died in custody. The highest numbers of martyrs were recorded in the Jenin and Nablus Governorates, with six martyrs each, followed by the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate with three. Among those killed, two were targeted in Israeli assassination operations, and six were killed during military incursions into Palestinian cities and villages. At least 143 citizens were injured, including 30 children, one woman, and several elderly individuals.
Since the beginning of this year, the Israeli army has killed 118 Palestinians throughout the West Bank, including 23 children. Ninety percent of these martyrs were from the northern West Bank governorates of Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Salfit.
Arrests and Raids on Residential Communities
During the reporting period, the occupation forces arrested 781 citizens in the West Bank and Jerusalem, including 23 children and 8 women (one of whom is a university student). The highest number of arrests was recorded in Hebron Governorate with 161 cases, followed by Nablus with 130 detainees, Tulkarm with 101, Jenin with 93, and Ramallah with 76. The remaining arrests were distributed across Jerusalem, Qalqilya, Tubas, Salfit, Bethlehem, and Jericho.
The Israeli army also carried out 1,190 incursions into various Palestinian residential areas in the West Bank and Jerusalem. These raids were most frequent in Ramallah, with 177 incursions, followed by Nablus with 175. The rest were distributed among the governorates of Jerusalem, Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Salfit, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Hebron.
The occupation’s operation in the northern West Bank, ongoing since 21 January, continues apace. The army has established military positions within refugee camps, carried out widespread destruction of infrastructure, and prevented tens of thousands of displaced persons in Tulkarm and Jenin from returning to their homes. It has also continued to forcibly displace residents in neighborhoods surrounding the camps in both governorates.
Demolition of Homes and Structures
Since 1 March, occupation authorities have demolished 152 Palestinian homes and structures across the occupied West Bank, the majority of which were located in Tubas and Hebron Governorates. This figure represents an increase compared to the 87 homes and structures demolished in March. Additionally, 46 Palestinian structures received demolition or stop-work notices for lack of permits, most of them in Hebron (16 notices) and Ramallah (14 notices).
The occupation cites multiple pretexts for these demolitions, most commonly the absence of building permits. Israeli authorities routinely refuse to approve master plans for Palestinian communities in “Area C,” leaving Palestinians with no choice but to build without permits to accommodate population growth or to avert migration into Areas “A” and “B,” which together constitute only 36% of the West Bank’s total area yet house 86% of its population.
During the first quarter of 2025, Israeli authorities demolished or confiscated 431 Palestinian structures, displacing 554 Palestinians, including 263 children. In comparison, 421 structures were demolished, and 813 individuals displaced during the last quarter of 2024. Out of all structures demolished, 335 were located in “Area C,” and 55 others were in Jerusalem.
Land Confiscation and Bulldozing
During the reporting period, the occupation authorities seized 54 dunums of Palestinian land pursuant to 4 military orders for “military purposes,” as follows:
-A military order confiscating 45 dunums of land in Al-Khader Village, south of Bethlehem, ostensibly to establish a buffer zone around the “Efrat” settlement.
-A military order confiscating 2.906 dunums of land in Arab al-Ta’amrah Village in Bethlehem, in addition to 16.99 dunums previously declared “state land,” for the purpose of creating a buffer zone around the “Nikodim” settlement.
-A military order confiscating 1.452 dunums of land in Artas Village and Bethlehem, purportedly to construct a new settlement road.
-A military order confiscating 4.344 dunums of land in Silwad, near Ramallah, to build a new settlement road connecting the Tel al-Asur military base to the main road between Silwad and Deir Jarir.
During 2024, the occupation authorities issued military orders to confiscate approximately 200,000 dunums of Palestinian land.
The occupation forces also bulldozed dozens of dunums of citizens’ land in various West Bank governorates, including wide-scale destruction of infrastructure in Jenin Refugee Camp, Tulkarm Refugee Camp, and Nur Shams Refugee Camp. Soldiers and settlers uprooted approximately 1,168 olive trees in Hebron, Salfit, Ramallah, and Nablus.
Settler Attacks
Settler assaults on Palestinian citizens, their property, and holy sites reached 208 reported incidents this month. These included trespassing on agricultural lands to plant them in order to assert control, damaging crops and trees, systematically attacking towns and villages, firing at residences, and setting vehicles on fire, as well as stealing and confiscating citizens’ property.
During the first quarter of 2025, 356 incidents involving settler violence were documented, resulting in the displacement of 38 Palestinian families consisting of 223 individuals, including 113 children – most from Bedouin or pastoral communities.
Settlement Activity
Throughout April, the occupation authorities reviewed 27 structural plans aimed at expanding West Bank and Jerusalem settlements, approving 10 of them and submitting 17 for deposit. Settlement plans for March targeted 3,030 dunums of Palestinian land.
In early April, the Higher Planning Council discussed approving the construction of 2,545 new housing units in the settlements of Ma’ale Adumim and Beitar Illit. In the last third of the month, the Council debated the authorization of additional housing units in the settlements of “Giv’at Ze’ev,” “Kfar Tapuach,” “Talmon,” and “Ma’ale Amos.” As a result, the total number of settlement units slated for construction during the first four months of 2025 rose to 15,190, surpassing the 12,349 units promoted throughout all of 2023.
Since December 2024, the Higher Planning Council has convened weekly sessions to discuss the construction of hundreds of new settlement units, particularly following the repeal of the requirement that Israel’s Minister of Defense approve settlement plans. These weekly sessions seek to normalize settlement planning, reduce international public criticism, and accelerate settlement expansion.
A joint report by “Kerem Navot” and “Peace Now” revealed systematic efforts by settlers to seize vast swaths of West Bank land with direct support from the Israeli government. According to the report, a small group of settlers managed to control about 14% of the West Bank – equivalent to 786,000 dunums – through the establishment of more than 100 illegal grazing outposts, causing the displacement of dozens of Palestinian Bedouin communities.
The report indicates that this land grab has been carried out by setting up herding outposts and expelling Palestinian herders and farmers from their lands, using intimidation and violence against neighboring Palestinian communities to force them off their land, and then taking over the vacated land to build new settlement outposts.
It further notes that over 60 Palestinian communities have been displaced by these policies, and at least 14 Israeli herding outposts have been established on or near their former land. Approximately 40% of the seized land is classified as “state land,” while 41% is located within “firing zones,” which even settlers are technically prohibited from entering. Another 4.4% lies within Areas “A” and “B,” which are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.
The report affirms that these activities take place with institutional and financial support from the Israeli government, in blatant disregard of both domestic and international law.
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