By Middle East Correspondent
London, (The Muslim News): The killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces and illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank has exploded since 2023 – with more deaths in just three years than in the previous 17 combined, shocking new figures show.
Aid giant Oxfam, citing United Nations data, revealed that 1,244 Palestinians – including 268 children – have been killed in the West Bank since 2023.That compares to 1,036 deaths, including 225 children, recorded across the 17 years from 2006 to 2022.
Oxfam’s humanitarian policy lead Bushra Khalidi described the surge in violence as “tragic and horrifying”, warning that while the world’s attention has been fixed on Gaza, the West Bank has seen an alarming escalation.
The report also found that almost 46,000 Palestinians have been forced from their homes in the West Bank over the past three years – more than three times the number displaced in the previous 14 years put together.
Movement restrictions have also tightened dramatically, with 925 checkpoints and barriers now in place across the territory, including East Jerusalem.
More than one in five Palestinians killed over the past two decades were children, according to the analysis. In the first three months of 2026 alone, more than 540 settler attacks were logged, leaving 33 Palestinians dead and 2,200 more displaced.
Around 500,000 Israeli settlers live in West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law, with a further 250,000 in East Jerusalem, according to watchdog group Peace Now.
Palestinian officials say at least 1,169 people have been killed and 12,600 injured in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 2023, with roughly 23,000 detained.
Last July, the International Court of Justice ruled Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and demanded the withdrawal of all settlements.
Hamas accuses Israel of sabotaging Gaza truce as troops push ‘yellow line’ deeper into territory
Hamas has accused Israel of trying to wreck ceasefire negotiations after its troops pushed the so-called ‘yellow line’ further into Gaza, in what the group branded a flagrant breach of the truce.
Spokesman Hazem Qassem said the advance – and accompanying shelling – represented “a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement”, aimed at blowing up the negotiation track just as Palestinian factions and mediators gathered in Cairo for crunch talks.
Witnesses reported Israeli forces shifted the line roughly 300 metres westward over the past week, particularly around the Tuffah district east of Gaza City.
The yellow line marks the position Israeli troops withdrew to under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire, which began in October 2025 – though Israel has yet to fully comply.
Since the truce, Israeli forces have killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians they accuse of attempting to cross the line.
Qassem warned the move exposed the failure of “guarantor states and the Peace Council to stop Israeli violations”, adding it reflected earlier threats by Israel to seize more Gaza territory.
It comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted on May 15 that his forces already controlled 60 per cent of Gaza – and intend to push that to 70 per cent.
Despite the tension, Hamas said “initial understandings” had been reached on several contentious issues during this week’s Cairo talks.
Israel has continued blocking agreed shipments of food, medicine and shelter materials into Gaza and has failed to open crossings as required under the deal – violations Gaza’s Health Ministry says have killed 981 people and wounded 3,111 since the ceasefire began on October 10, 2025.
Since the war began on October 8, 2023, around 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 173,000 wounded, with 90 per cent of Gaza’s infrastructure destroyed.
Meanwhile, five people were wounded early Friday when Israeli artillery struck a school sheltering displaced families at the Abu Hussein School in Jabalia.
In Gaza City, drones bombarded the Tuffah district, while in central Gaza, Israeli airstrikes flattened two homes in the Maghazi refugee camp after evacuation warnings, displacing dozens of families. A separate strike near Deir al-Balah caused major damage but no casualties.
In Khan Younis, Israeli forces demolished homes and civilian buildings in the city’s east, with explosions heard across the strip.
Seven hurt as Israeli warplanes pound southern Lebanon despite ceasefire
Seven people were injured Friday after Israeli airstrikes hit the southern Lebanese town of Maarakeh, emergency services said.
The Lebanese Risala Scout Association said its rescue teams responded to a strike on the town’s eastern neighbourhood, evacuating six casualties to hospital while treating one at the scene.
Separately, Israeli jets carried out a two-wave strike on the town of Toul, destroying a residential and commercial building, while two more strikes hit Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
Israel’s offensive on Lebanon, which began on March 2, has now killed 3,711 people and wounded 11,483, displacing more than a million. Despite a ceasefire from April 17, Israeli forces have continued near-daily shelling and home demolitions across dozens of villages.
[Photo: View of the destruction following Israeli attacks on Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on June 12, 2026 in Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine.
Photojournalist: Moiz Salhi/AA]
