UN Panel Details 254 West Bank Airstrike Deaths

Since October 2023, Israeli airstrikes have killed 254 people in the West Bank, according to a report released on Monday by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry. This figure stands in stark contrast to the six Palestinians killed by airstrikes between 2008 and early 2023. The panel identified this period as seeing the highest annual death tolls since it began collecting data in 2005, with nearly 500 Palestinians dying each year since 2022.

The commission attributed the surge in casualties to Operation Iron Wall, which launched in January 2025. The report describes the military campaign as a shift toward widespread destruction of housing and infrastructure, particularly in refugee camps and areas around Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and Nablus. The panel stated that these actions aim to impose unliveable conditions on the Palestinian population. Srinivasan Muralidhar, the Indian jurist chairing the commission, said the killing of civilians and destruction of homes form part of a strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians.

The report also analyzed statements by senior Israeli officials to assess military intent. It cited Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who referred to two million Nazis in the West Bank in November 2023 and later called for Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. The panel also highlighted a reported May 2026 statement by Major General Avi Bluth, chief of the IDF Central Command, who said soldiers were killing like they had not since 1967.

In addition to the West Bank, the commission accused Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza. It verified four new cases of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees since March 2025. One case involved a male detainee at Megiddo Prison in 2025 who was allegedly blindfolded and raped with objects during interrogation. The panel concluded that these acts, along with torture, constitute crimes against humanity. Israel has previously disputed the commission's verification methods, calling the claims unfounded.

The report did not spare the Palestinian Authority from criticism. The panel accused the PA of suppressing dissent through arbitrary arrests and the targeting of journalists. It detailed the December 2024 killing of a journalism student in Jenin who had documented abuses by PA security forces. Witnesses reported that a security member threatened to shoot her the day before she was killed by a single shot to the neck near her home. The PA spokesman blamed outlaws for the death, but the commission noted that key witnesses were not asked to testify.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to the findings on Monday, labeling the document propaganda detached from reality. The ministry stated the report aims to undermine Israel's right to self-defense and delegitimize the state. The commission noted that Hamas was mentioned only twice in the document, and neither instance accused the group of committing crimes or other wrongdoings.