JERUSALEM: Israeli NGOs have raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem&#39;s borders into the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israels-west-bank-mega-land-grab-draws-international-outrage" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">occupied West Bank</a> since 1967. Israel has occupied east Jerusalem since 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The proposal, published in early February but reported by Israeli media only on Monday, comes as international outrage mounts over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-condemns-israeli-west-bank-land-seizures-demands-international-action" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">creeping measures</a> aimed at strengthening Israeli control over the West Bank. Critics say these actions by the Israeli authorities are aimed at the de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory. The planned development, announced by Israel&#39;s Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated north-east of Jerusalem in the West Bank. In a statement, the ministry said the development agreement included the construction of around 2,780 housing units for the settlement, with an investment of roughly 120 million Israeli shekels (around $38.7 million). But the area to be developed lies on the Jerusalem side of the separation barrier built by Israel in the early 2000s, while Geva Binyamin sits on the West Bank side of the barrier, and the two are separated by a road. In a statement, Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said there would be no &quot;territorial or functional connection&quot; between the area to be developed and the settlement. &quot;The new neighborhood will be integral to the city of Jerusalem,&quot; Lior Amihai, Peace Now&#39;s executive director, told AFP. &quot;What is unique about that one is that it will be connected directly to Jerusalem, but it will be beyond the annexed municipal border. So, it will be in complete West Bank territory, but just adjacent to Jerusalem,&quot; he said. &#39;Living there as Jerusalemites&#39; The move comes days after Israel&#39;s government approved a process to register land in the West Bank as &quot;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israel-approves-west-bank-land-as-state-property-continues-gaza-bombardment-report" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">state property</a>&quot;, drawing widespread international condemnation and fears among critics that it would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory. Days earlier, Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved a series of measures to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords. Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority&#39;s control. Amihai said that the current government &ndash; one of the most right-wing in Israel&#39;s history &ndash; was &quot;systematically working to annex the occupied territories and to prevent Palestinian statehood&quot;.&nbsp;The case of Jerusalem, he said, was particularly symbolic. &quot;Every change to Jerusalem is sensitive to both the Israeli public, but also to the Palestinians,&quot; he told AFP. Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim, an Israeli NGO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/palestinian-ngo-condemns-israeli-act-of-revenge-after-prisoner-abuse-video" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">focusing</a>&nbsp;on Jerusalem within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the latest planned development amounted to a de facto expansion of the city of Jerusalem. &quot;If it is built, and people live there, the people who will live there, they will be living there as Jerusalemites,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;In all practical terms, it&#39;s basically not the settlement that will be expanded, but Jerusalem.&quot; &#39;Facts on the ground&#39; The development agreement was signed by Israel&#39;s Construction and Housing Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Binyamin Regional Council, which represents settlements north of Ramallah in the central West Bank. It has yet to be reviewed by the Civil Administration&#39;s Higher Planning Committee, in a process which could take several months or years. Tatarsky said that international pressure had so far made it difficult for recent Israeli governments to make formal declarations on annexation. &quot;It&#39;s much easier to create facts on the ground, which, altogether... actually add up to annexation,&quot; the researcher said. The West Bank, occupied since 1967, would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state but is seen by many on the religious right as Israeli land. Some 200,000 Israelis live in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, while more than 500,000 others live in West Bank&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/new-israeli-west-bank-measures-draw-palestinian-regional-backlash" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">settlements</a>&nbsp;and outposts, which are illegal under international law. Around three million Palestinians live in the territory. The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

This picture taken from Umm Safa village, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, shows a Palestinian flag (foreground) and Israeli flag fluttering on a hilltop overlooking the village on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

The proposal, published in early February but reported by Israeli media only on Monday, comes as international outrage mounts over creeping measures aimed at strengthening Israeli control over the West Bank.

Israel accused of move expanding Jerusalem borders for first time since 1967

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Sunday rejected what it described as Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;illegal measures&rdquo; in the Occupied West Bank, strongly condemning attempts by the Israeli occupying power to convert areas of the territory into so-called state property and expand settlement activities. &quot;Such steps are in clear violation of international law as well as relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and must be rejected by the international community,&quot; the Foreign Ministry said. MoFA said the occupying power&rsquo;s continued disregard for international law and its &ldquo;provocative actions&rdquo; undermined prospects for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region. Calling for accountability, Pakistan urged the international community to take concrete measures to end Israeli impunity and ensure respect for international law. Reaffirming Islamabad&#39;s longstanding position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Pakistan reiterated full support for Palestinian self-determination and statehood. The statement backed the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. The European Union called on Israel to reverse its approval of a process to register land in the West Bank, warning it was a &quot;new escalation&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;This constitutes a new escalation after recent measures already aimed at extending Israeli control&quot; in the occupied West Bank, EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said. &quot;We reiterate that annexation is illegal under international law. We call on Israel to reverse this decision,&quot; he added.

Palestinian children and journalists disperse as Israeli tanks enter the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

Foreign Affairs

Islamabad denounces Israel’s move to convert West Bank land into “state property”; says Israel's action breaches international law and UN resolutions; urges global measures while reaffirming support for Palestinian statehood.

Pakistan condemns Israeli West Bank land seizures, demands international action

RAMALLAH: A Palestinian NGO has denounced what it called an <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/new-israeli-west-bank-measures-draw-palestinian-regional-backlash" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israeli act</a> of revenge after a video showed far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir overseeing the abuse of detainees in a military prison. Just days before the start of Ramadan, Ben Gvir held a tour of Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, Israel&#39;s Channel 7 reported. In footage filmed on Friday and broadcast by the channel, around 20 police officers are seen storming a hallway leading to prison cells, brandishing their weapons and firing stun grenades. They then pull five detainees from their cells, their hands tied behind their backs, forcing them face-down onto the floor. The operation took place as a bill proposing the death penalty for <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/buses-carrying-palestinian-prisoners-arrive-in-gazas-khan-yunis" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palestinian prisoners</a> convicted of terrorism awaited a final vote in the Israeli parliament. &quot;This is all part of ongoing displays meant to take revenge on Palestinian detainees,&quot; Abdallah al Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners&#39; Club, told AFP on Saturday. &quot;Everything Ben Gvir and the far right government are doing affects not only the Palestinian people and prisoners in detention camps &ndash; it also impacts the global legal and human rights system,&quot; he added. Ben Gvir, known for his inflammatory rhetoric, is considered one of the most hardline members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s ruling coalition. &quot;It is simply a source of pride &ndash; arriving at a prison like this, a prison for terrorists, the vilest of the vile, seeing them like this,&quot; Ben Gvir said in the video. &quot;I want one more thing: to execute them &ndash; the death penalty for terrorists,&quot; he added. Hamas on Saturday said the remarks were &quot;a new war crime and a blatant challenge to international humanitarian law regarding prisoners&quot;. International rights groups have repeatedly warned of reported <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uk-opposes-israels-annexation-of-occupied-west-bank" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">abuse</a> and mistreatment inflicted in Israeli prisons. While the death penalty exists for a small number of crimes in Israel, it has become a de facto abolitionist country, with the Nazi Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann the last person to be executed in 1962.

In a footage broadcast on an Israeli channel, around 20 Israeli police officers can be seen storming a hallway leading to prison cells, brandishing their weapons and firing stun grenades. 

Palestinian NGO condemns Israeli act of 'revenge' after prisoner abuse video

ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom has condemned new steps approved by Israel&rsquo;s security cabinet for the occupied West Bank, saying they amount to de facto annexation, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported. The UK said it &ldquo;strongly condemned&rdquo; the move and called on Israel to reverse the decision. A government statement said any unilateral attempt to change the geographic or demographic character of Palestine is unacceptable and violates international law. On Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-muslim-countries-renew-call-to-stop-israeli-escalation-in-occupied-west-bank" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">foreign ministers from Pakistan</a>, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, and Qatar also condemned the decision, warning it would accelerate illegal annexation and displacement of Palestinians and further fuel violence in the region. The measures were announced by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said the moves would make it easier for Jewish settlers to take over Palestinian land. &ldquo;We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state,&rdquo; he said. The report said that all&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/netanyahu-tells-us-envoy-palestinian-authority-wont-be-part-of-postwar-gaza-governance" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israeli settlements</a>&nbsp;in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law. The new steps aim to strengthen Israeli control over the territory by changing rules related to property law, planning, licensing and enforcement. They are expected to be approved by Israel&rsquo;s top military commander for the West Bank. The announcement came three days ahead of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington. According to the United Nations, settlement expansion in the West Bank last year reached its fastest pace since monitoring began. The measures include cancelling a decades-old ban on the direct sale of West Bank land to Jews and declassifying local land registry records. Until now, settlers could only buy property through registered companies on land under Israeli government control. Israeli ministers described the move as a step to increase transparency. Israel&rsquo;s foreign ministry later said the previous system was a &ldquo;racist distortion&rdquo; that discriminated against non-Arabs in real estate purchases in what it calls Judea and Samaria. The cabinet also removed the requirement for a special permit to complete real estate transactions, reducing oversight aimed at preventing fraud. Palestinians warned the changes could increase pressure on landowners to sell and lead to forgery and deception. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the measures &ldquo;dangerous&rdquo; and said they were an open attempt to legalise settlement expansion, land confiscation and the demolition of Palestinian property, including in areas under Palestinian Authority control. He urged the United States and the UN Security Council to intervene. Israeli rights group Peace Now said the decision risks undermining the Palestinian Authority and amounts to de facto annexation. It accused the government of paving the way for large-scale land seizures.

An Israeli soldier walks near Palestinians protesting after Israeli security forces blocked the entrance of the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on February 9, 2026, demanding to be allowed to return to their homes from where t

The British government says it “strongly condemned” the move and called on Israel to reverse the decision.

UK opposes Israel’s annexation of occupied West Bank

ISLAMABAD: Eight Muslim countries, including Pakistan, have reiterated their appeal for the international community to meet its legal and moral duties and take concrete actions to pressure Israel to stop its escalation in the occupied West Bank, according to a joint statement issued on Monday.&nbsp;The statement strongly reaffirmed the nullity of Israel&rsquo;s annexation of occupied Palestinian lands, stressing that such actions violate international law and United Nations resolutions.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 967px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2020804005861933167&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=04b6d3130276d462dfa281da43a6e63baef4841c&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>It also condemned what it described as inciting statements by Israeli officials, warning that such rhetoric further fuels instability and tensions in the occupied territories.&nbsp;The participants urged the global community to move beyond statements of concern and take effective measures to ensure accountability and <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/netanyahu-tells-us-envoy-palestinian-authority-wont-be-part-of-postwar-gaza-governance" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">protection for the Palestinian people</a>.&nbsp;They emphasized that continued escalation in the occupied West Bank poses a serious threat to regional peace and undermines prospects for a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.&nbsp;The statement reiterated support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and called for respect for international law, including the protection of civilians under occupation.

The countries strongly reaffirm the nullity of Israel’s annexation of occupied Palestinian lands, stressing that such actions violate international law and United Nations resolutions.


Pakistan, Muslim countries renew call to stop Israeli escalation in occupied West Bank

ISLAMABAD: In 2025, Israeli forces and settlers killed a total of 240 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 55 children, according to a humanitarian update released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).&nbsp;Of the total, 225 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces, nine by settlers, and six in circumstances where responsibility remains unclear.&nbsp;In just two weeks between December 23, 2025, and January 5, 2026, Israeli forces and settlers killed two Palestinians and injured 94 others, including 35 children.&nbsp;One Palestinian also succumbed to injuries sustained earlier in December. During the same period, two Israelis were killed and two others injured by a Palestinian from the West Bank, according to the report.&nbsp;The UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee and the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General have urged Israeli authorities to reverse plans to suspend the operations of international non-governmental organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories, noting that these groups collectively deliver close to $1 billion in annual humanitarian assistance.&nbsp;Severe winter weather has further worsened the humanitarian situation, damaging or destroying dozens of tents and makeshift shelters used by Bedouin and herding communities across the West Bank.&nbsp;The report also highlights that more than 830 Palestinians were injured by settler attacks in 2025, averaging nearly two people injured each day. Over the past two weeks, Israeli authorities demolished 50 structures in Area C and East Jerusalem for allegedly lacking building permits.&nbsp;In East Jerusalem&rsquo;s Batn al Hawa area, two Palestinian families were forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for an Israeli settler organization. In Nablus governorate, the last six families of Khirbet Yanun, who had lived there for more than 60 years, were displaced following repeated settler attacks.&nbsp;The report details several recent incidents of deadly violence. On December 23, a Palestinian man from Saffit died from injuries sustained on December 14 when he was shot by Israeli forces while attempting to cross the Barrier toward East Jerusalem near Ar Ram and Dahiyat al Bareed.&nbsp;&nbsp;On December 30, Israeli forces opened fire on a vehicle traveling between Urif and Einabus in Nablus governorate, injuring four Palestinian men in their twenties; one later died from his wounds. A Palestinian man was also shot and killed by Israeli soldiers after being accused of attempting a ramming attack, while no Israeli personnel were injured.&nbsp;On January 1, 2026, Israeli forces opened fire in Al Lubban ash Sharqiyya village, injuring two Palestinians, one of whom was arrested and later pronounced dead in an Israeli hospital. The other escaped.&nbsp;The OCHA report emphasizes that ongoing violence, demolitions, evictions, and settler attacks continue to drive displacement, insecurity, and suffering in the West Bank, disproportionately affecting children and vulnerable communities.

The report notes Israel kills 240 Palestinians in 2025, including 55 children, amid demolitions, evictions, and settler attacks worsening insecurity and humanitarian suffering in the West Bank.

Israel kills 240 Palestinians, dozens of children among victims: UN

ISLAMABAD: Amnesty International and 52 other international humanitarian organizations warned that Israel&#39;s recent registration measures will severely impede aid delivery in Gaza and the West Bank, where needs remain critical despite a ceasefire. In a joint statement, the groups said&nbsp;they deliver more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, operate or support 60% of field hospitals and provide all treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition. If Israel allows their registrations to lapse, approximately one in three health facilities would close immediately, food distributions would halt and shelter pipelines serving 1.3 million people would collapse, according to the statement coordinated by the Norwegian Refugee Council. &quot;This is not a technical or administrative matter, but a deliberate policy choice with foreseeable consequences,&quot; the organizations wrote in the statement. One in four families in Gaza survives on one meal a day, according to the groups. Winter storms have displaced tens of thousands, they said. The organizations said they implement nearly three-quarters of shelter activities, with about 600,000 shelter items in their supply pipelines. The humanitarian groups said in the statement they operate under strict donor-mandated compliance including audits and counter-terror financing controls meeting international standards. More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed since October&nbsp;7, 2023, the statement said. The organizations said they cannot transfer sensitive staff data to parties in the conflict, citing humanitarian principles and data protection requirements. The groups called on Israel to immediately halt deregistration proceedings and urged donor governments to use all available leverage to pressure Israel to reverse the actions, according to the statement. &quot;Humanitarian access is not optional, conditional, or political. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law,&quot; the statement said. In the West Bank, ongoing military raids and settler violence continue to drive displacement, the organizations said. Further restrictions on the groups would sharply reduce the reach of aid assistance. The statement said the move would set a dangerous precedent by extending Israeli authority over humanitarian operations in the occupied Palestinian territory. Signatories include Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, CARE International, Islamic Relief, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the Danish Refugee Council and the American Friends Service Committee, according to the statement.

The aid organizations said the move would set a dangerous precedent by extending Israeli authority over humanitarian operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Amnesty International, 52 aid groups warn Israel threatens Gaza aid operations

ISLAMABAD: Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, their second day of operations there after a local resident killed two people in Israel. &quot;The IDF (Israeli army) is operating forcefully against terror hubs in the village of Qabatiya... accompanied by a lockdown and a complete cordon around the locality,&quot; Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement published by his office on Saturday. &quot;We will continue to pursue an uncompromising offensive policy against Palestinian terror,&quot; he added. Bilal Hunaisha, a resident of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank, said the town &quot;is being subjected to collective punishment by the Israeli occupation&quot;. &quot;As you can see, they blocked the way to my house and I am no longer able to move around,&quot; he told AFP, pointing to a pile of rubble obstructing the road. In the attack on Friday a 34-year-old Palestinian man killed two people in northern Israel. The assailant, who had been working illegally in Israel, had used his employer&#39;s vehicle to ram into a 68-year-old man and then stabbed an 18-year-old girl to death, according to Israeli police. A few hours later, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet domestic security agency began operating in Qabatiya. They searched the perpetrator&#39;s house and questioned suspects, the army said. On Saturday, the army&#39;s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered the reinforcement of troops deployed in the area. &quot;This period is characterized by lone attackers and individuals staying illegally in (Israel). Enforcement against those who transport and employ them must be strengthened and improved,&quot; he said, according to an army statement. &quot;At the same time, we must continue to enhance our capabilities to identify and thwart these attackers.&quot; Qabatiya resident Muhannad Zakarneh told AFP that the army arrested him at home at 6 am &quot;for no obvious reasons&quot; and kept him handcuffed for hours. &quot;When I asked what my charge was, there was no response,&quot; he said. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that besides blocking entrances and conducting interrogations and home searches, Israeli forces also took over a school and used it as a &quot;detention and interrogation center&quot;. Since the start of the war ON Gaza, at least 38 people, including two foreigners, have been killed inside Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. During the same period, violence has also surged in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to an AFP tally based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry. According to official Israeli figures, at least 44 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the same period in the West Bank.

Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on Qabatiya village in the West Bank after two Israelis were killed.

Israel seals off Palestinian village after deadly attack

ISLAMABAD: An Israeli reservist soldier ran over a Palestinian man while he was praying by the roadside, according to footage broadcast by CNN.&nbsp;The incident, which has been widely reported by international media citing Reuters, shows the man being struck as he prayed, sparking condemnation and raising questions over the conduct of Israeli security personnel in the occupied territories.&nbsp;In a statement, the Israeli military said it had received footage showing an armed individual running over a Palestinian man, adding that the driver was a reservist whose military service had since been terminated.&nbsp;The military said the reservist acted in severe violation of his authority and that his weapon had been confiscated.&nbsp;Israeli media reported that the reservist was placed under house arrest following the incident.&nbsp;The Palestinian man was taken to hospital for medical checks after the incident, as per media reports.&nbsp;In a separate incident, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces on Friday fatally shot a Palestinian man east of Gaza City. The victim, identified as Uday al-Maqadma, was reportedly sitting near the entrance of a school when Israeli forces opened fire. He was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries.&nbsp;Wafa said the killing comes amid continued Israeli military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out near-daily raids, arrests and use of live fire since the start of the war.&nbsp;Palestinian health officials say dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank during these operations, which Israeli authorities describe as security measures targeting militants.&nbsp;The agency also reported that two Palestinians were shot dead earlier this week in Gaza City&rsquo;s Shujaiya neighborhood during Israeli military activity in the area.

The footage, shared by CNN, shows the man being struck as he prayed, sparking condemnation and raising questions over the conduct of Israeli security personnel in the occupied territories.

Israeli reservist rams vehicle into praying Palestinian man

ISLAMABAD: Children across Gaza and the West Bank are experiencing unprecedented levels of abuse and psychological trauma, with protection services struggling to meet escalating needs amid critical funding shortages, according to two newly released humanitarian reports. According to the &quot;Protecting Children in Gaza Strip&quot; report, the scale of harm in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels. More than 64,000 children have been killed or injured in conflict-related violence since October 2023 The reported stated that the psychological impact is near-universal, with nearly all 1.1 million children requiring mental health and psychosocial support, the report states. Children are displaying signs of distress including nightmares, aggression, depression and suicidal thoughts. An estimated 11,000 children have sustained life-altering injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation. Family structures have collapsed, leaving 58,550 children who have lost one or both parents, according to the Gaza report, whilst 5,128 children have been identified as unaccompanied or separated from caregivers between January and October 2025. Education has virtually ceased, with 658,000 children out of school and 89% of schools sustaining major damage or destruction, as per the report. Desperate families are resorting to exploitative measures, with one in four sending children into hazardous work&mdash;some as young as six years old. West Bank crisis intensifies Meanwhile in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, children face a different but equally alarming protection crisis. The report &quot;Children in the West Bank: An Escalating Protection Crisis&quot; states that case management partners report rising cases of neglect and emotional abuse driven by poverty, displacement and family stress. More than 14,000 children were affected by home demolitions between January and April 2025, according to the West Bank report. Meanwhile 32,000 people, including thousands of children, were forcibly displaced in the northern West Bank at the start of the year. Children in detention represent a major concern, with the report showing they accounted for 20% of case management cases in the second quarter of 2025, with boys aged 13-17 most affected. According to the report, detained children are often denied access to families and lawyers and face high risks of physical and psychological violence. Children with disabilities remain particularly vulnerable across both regions. The Gaza report shows 23,969 children with disabilities received tailored support, whilst the West Bank report indicates 4,808 were reached with dedicated services. Funding crisis threatens response Despite significant achievements, such as 896,300 children and caregivers reached with specialized protection services in Gaza, according to the Gaza report, and 155,239 children reached in the West Bank as per the West Bank report, humanitarian efforts face severe constraints. Only 16% of the $121.2m requested for child protection in Gaza has been received, the Gaza report states. The West Bank requires $8.9m, with the West Bank report noting that funding shortfalls are limiting service sustainability.

Children in Gaza and the West Bank endure severe violence, psychological trauma, and disrupted education, while humanitarian protection services struggle due to critical funding gaps and escalating needs.

Articles tagged with "occupied West Bank"