Crisis in the West Bank and Gaza: A Comprehensive Report

A 19-year-old Palestinian American was killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Multiple U.N. reports detail allegations of war crimes, civilian targeting, and humanitarian crises in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Killing of Nasrallah Abu Siyam in the West Bank

Incident Details

On Wednesday afternoon in the village of Mukhmas, located in the occupied West Bank near Ramallah, a group of Israeli settlers attacked a farmer, according to witness Raed Abu Ali. Clashes ensued between residents and the settlers. Israeli forces arrived at the scene, and during the events, armed settlers shot and killed 19-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siyam and injured several others. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed Abu Siyam's death from critical wounds.

Witness Raed Abu Ali reported that Israeli forces used tear gas, sound grenades, and live ammunition. The Israeli military stated it used "riot dispersal methods" after receiving reports of Palestinians throwing rocks but denied its forces fired during the clashes. The military later stated that unnamed suspects shot at Palestinians, who were evacuated for medical treatment, without specifying arrests.

Abu Siyam's mother confirmed his American citizenship, making him the second Palestinian American killed by Israeli settlers in less than a year. A U.S. embassy spokesperson issued a statement condemning the violence.

Context of Violence in the West Bank

The killing is part of a rise in violence in the occupied West Bank. According to United Nations figures, in the prior year Israeli forces and settlers killed 240 Palestinians, while Palestinians killed 17 Israelis, including six soldiers. Mukhmas and its vicinity have experienced settler attacks, arson, assaults, and the construction of outposts considered illegal under Israeli law. Palestinians and rights groups assert that authorities frequently do not prosecute settlers for violence.

Israeli Official Condemnation

Israel's President Isaac Herzog characterized the attacks as "shocking and serious." Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir condemned the West Bank violence, stating the military "will not tolerate the phenomena of a minority of criminals." Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, chief of the military's Central Command, said that addressing an "anarchist fringe" diverts resources from security and counterterrorism efforts.

On Tuesday, masked Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf. Vehicles and other property were set on fire. The army reported that settlers fled to a nearby industrial zone, where they attacked soldiers and damaged a military vehicle. Police reported four Israelis were arrested; three were subsequently released, while one minor was ordered to remain in custody.

The U.N. humanitarian office reported that October saw over 260 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, the highest monthly total since data collection began in 2006.

UN Human Rights Reports: Allegations of War Crimes and Targeting of Children

West Bank and Gaza Findings

The U.N. human rights office issued a report accusing Israel of war crimes, stating that practices displacing Palestinians and altering the demographic composition of the occupied West Bank raise "concerns over ethnic cleansing." Findings collected from November 2024 to October 2025 indicated a "concerted and accelerating effort to consolidate annexation" and a system "to maintain oppression and domination of Palestinians." The report also warned of demographic shifts in Gaza raising concerns of ethnic cleansing.

The office reported that Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank used "means and methods designed for warfare," including lethal airstrikes and forced transfers of civilians. The report also noted that the Palestinian Authority engaged in "intimidation, detention and ill-treatment of journalists, human rights defenders and other individuals deemed critical of its rule."

Neither Israel's Foreign Ministry nor the Palestinian Authority provided comments on the report. Israel has previously accused the U.N. rights office of anti-Israel bias.

Targeted Killing of Children

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel released a report alleging Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The report states that between 25% and 30% of Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 2023 were children, a higher proportion than in previous conflicts. The commission documented direct targeting of children with precision weapons, including drone and sniper attacks aimed at vital organs, disproportionate force in residential areas, attacks on medical facilities, and use of starvation as a method of war.

Specific cases cited include the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family in January 2024 and the shooting of a 15-year-old boy waving a white flag in Khan Younis.

Israeli Response to Reports

Israel's foreign ministry rejected the report, calling it a "libellous sham" and a "propaganda piece." Israel asserts its military operations are conducted in self-defense and in accordance with international law, aiming to defeat Hamas and secure hostages. The government condemned the inquiry as politically motivated, accusing it of ignoring Israeli victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks. Israel published an 18-page rebuttal, calling the report factually unsubstantiated and highlighting efforts to minimize civilian harm and facilitate humanitarian aid, while accusing Hamas of exploiting civilians as human shields.

Casualty Figures

Gaza's Health Ministry reports at least 73,035 deaths since October 2023, including over 21,280 children. These figures are considered reliable by the U.N. Since the October 2025 ceasefire, more than 1,020 Palestinians have been killed, including 265 children, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Detention of Palestinian Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documented that at least 94 Palestinian journalists and one media worker were detained in Israel during the Gaza war. Thirty remain in custody. The CPJ report states detainees experienced conditions including physical assaults, forced stress positions, sensory deprivation, sexual violence, and medical neglect. Half of the journalists were reportedly held under Israel's administrative detention system without charges. Israel's prison services did not respond to a request for comment regarding this report, and previously rejected a similar report in January, calling the allegations false.

Gaza: Rubble Removal, Unexploded Ordnance, and Reconstruction

Rubble Removal and Humanitarian Situation

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) estimates that removing rubble across Gaza will require at least seven years. Alexander De Croo, a former Belgian prime minister and UNDP representative, stated that only 0.5% of the rubble has been removed, describing living conditions in Gaza as "the worst he had ever seen." De Croo reported that 90% of Gaza's 2.2 million people live in "very, very rudimentary tents" amidst rubble, which presents health and explosive weapon dangers. The UNDP has constructed 500 temporary housing units and has 4,000 more available, but estimates the total need to be between 200,000 and 300,000 units.

Unexploded Ordnance Incidents

Two children, 8-year-old Joud Ahmad Al Angar and 12-year-old Zain Nour, sustained injuries when an item they found in rubble near their tent exploded. The children had brought the item back to their tent, and it detonated when tossed away after adults instructed them to return it. They were admitted to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where they received initial care amid reported shortages of painkillers and medical personnel.

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) estimates that between 5% and 10% of weapons deployed in Gaza over the past two years failed to detonate, leading to at least 328 fatalities from UXO, with 24 occurring since the ceasefire commenced on October 10. Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Civil Defense in Gaza, confirmed daily reports of unexploded bombs and estimated tens of thousands of tons remain. He also reported that 90% of the Civil Defense's bomb disposal specialists have been killed.

Nick Orr, chief of operations for the nonprofit Humanity and Inclusion in Gaza, highlighted challenges in UXO clearance due to dense population, projecting that clearing surface-level UXO could take 20 to 30 years, with residual discoveries potentially continuing for two to three generations.

Body Recovery Operation

A recovery crew in Beit Lahia conducted a three-day mission to unearth bodies from a collapsed building destroyed by an Israeli strike in late October 2024. The building collapsed, killing over 132 members of the Abu Naser family, according to an NPR investigation. Gaza's Civil Defense team performed the operation with one functioning excavator. Over three days, 50 bodies were recovered, largely skeletons with clothing intact. No DNA testing was available; identification relied on visual recognition by family members. Gaza's health ministry estimates that about 8,000 bodies remain buried under debris across Gaza.

Ceasefire Challenges: International Troop Deployment and Disarmament

Humanitarian Situation and Ceasefire Status

A 10-year-old, identified as Bayan Al-Ankah, was reported by her family to have been killed by the Israeli military in a displaced persons camp in Gaza during the ceasefire. Mediators Qatar and Egypt have expressed concern that the truce is threatened by Israeli military actions in Gaza. The U.N. reports that approximately a quarter of families in Gaza consume only one meal per day, and essential medicines, such as antibiotics, remain largely unavailable. Recent severe storms in Gaza resulted in flooding and damage to shelters. Gaza's Health Ministry reported that at least two infants died from the cold during the storm, and at least 11 others were killed in a house collapse.

The Israeli agency responsible for humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, issued a statement affirming Israel's commitment to facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid trucks in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.

International Stabilization Force (ISF) Discussions

The viability of the U.S.-backed ceasefire is linked to two subsequent phases: the deployment of an international force in Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas. The U.S. objective is to deploy international forces by early 2026.

A U.S. State Department document outlines the concept for international troops, including "supporting the demilitarization of Gaza, dismantling terrorist infrastructure" and "decommissioning weapons used by terrorists." The United Nations Security Council authorized international troops to operate in Gaza until the end of 2027, though the specific mandate remains undefined.

A planning meeting was held in Doha, Qatar, but no formal troop commitments have been made. Countries considered for troop contributions include Italy, Egypt, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.

Country Positions

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated Turkey could "play a leading role" but specified Turkish military personnel should serve as peacekeepers along a border zone, not participate in disarming Hamas. Fidan remarked, "We shouldn't expect from the ISF work that has not been completed by Israeli security forces."

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stated the ISF's mandate should be "peacekeeping, rather than peace enforcing," advocating for rapid deployment as monitors and citing daily Israeli violations of the ceasefire.

Israel maintains that Hamas is violating the ceasefire by attempting to rebuild military capabilities. An Israeli airstrike killed a senior Hamas military commander, which Israel defended by stating he was involved in rearming the group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed skepticism about an international force's capacity to disarm Hamas, stating, "Our friends in America want to try and establish a multinational force to do the job. I told them ... please, be my guest." Israel has voiced objections to Turkey's involvement and stated it will not withdraw troops until Gaza is demilitarized.

Hamas Positions

Bassem Naim, a Hamas negotiator, stated that Hamas is open to disarmament but linked it to conditions. Naim indicated Hamas is ready for a ceasefire lasting "five, seven, 10 years" during which weapons could be stored and decommissioned, provided Gaza is not attacked. He emphasized that "disarmament or decommissioning of weapons have to be connected to a serious political track, which has to end with a Palestinian state."

Hossam Badran, another senior Hamas leader, stated that Hamas prefers to engage with mediators before publicly discussing disarmament specifics. Badran stated that Hamas seeks disarmament to occur concurrently with the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the opening of Gaza's Rafah border with Egypt for travel, deeming Israel's insistence on disarmament first as "unreasonable."

Hamas has indicated willingness to accept the ISF as a peacekeeping buffer force between Israeli forces and Palestinians, provided it does not operate within Palestinian population centers of Gaza.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari noted disagreements among countries concerning the timing of these steps, stating, "Sequencing is the issue. When does disarmament happen? How does it happen?" and warned that lack of decisions provides time for the ceasefire to collapse.