UN Panel Logs 254 West Bank Airstrike Deaths

A United Nations commission released a report on Monday accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank and Gaza. The findings state that 254 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the West Bank between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2026. This figure represents a sharp rise compared to the six Palestinians killed by airstrikes in the same region between 2008 and October 6, 2023.

The report notes that annual Palestinian deaths in the West Bank have reached nearly 500 since 2022. These figures mark the highest annual totals recorded since the United Nations began collecting data on the topic in 2005. The commission attributes the increase in frequency to Operation Iron Wall, which began in January 2025.

Srinivasan Muralidhar, an Indian jurist serving as the chair of the Commission of Inquiry, addressed the findings. He stated that the killing of civilians and destruction of homes, combined with Israel’s denial of responsibility, forms part of a strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians. Muralidhar said these actions impose conditions of life that are unliveable.

The commission cited statements by Israeli officials to assess military intentions. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich referred to two million Nazis in the West Bank in November 2023. In January 2025, he wrote that Nablus and Jenin should look like Jabalia. Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, chief of the IDF Central Command, reportedly said in May 2026 that Israeli soldiers were killing like they have not since 1967.

The report also details allegations of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. The commission verified four new cases since its March 2025 report. One case involved a male detainee at Megiddo Prison in 2025. He was allegedly blindfolded and raped with objects during interrogation. The commission stated that guards mocked and photographed him and that he suffered rectal bleeding without medical treatment.

The findings also criticize the Palestinian Authority for suppressing political dissent. The report cites arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture of journalists and activists. It references the October 2023 protests in Ramallah, Tubas, and Jenin, where at least two men, a boy, and a girl were killed. The Palestinian Authority accepted responsibility for the death of the boy, who was run over by a security vehicle.

The commission investigated the December 2024 killing of a journalism student in Jenin refugee camp. She had documented alleged abuses by Palestinian security forces and was killed by a single shot to the neck. The Palestinian security forces spokesman blamed outlaws for the killing, though the commission noted that key witnesses had not been asked to testify.

Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry responded to the release on Monday. It called the report a propaganda document detached from reality. The ministry said the report aims to undermine Israel’s right to self-defense and delegitimize the Jewish state. It also accused the report of legitimizing jihadist terrorism against Israeli citizens.

The report mentions Hamas only twice and does not accuse the group of committing crimes. The commission concluded that both Israeli authorities and the Palestinian Authority have failed to provide effective remedies to victims and their families.