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oPt: Humanitarian Situation Report | 11 September 2026

Field Reports & Humanitarian • Source: ReliefWeb Global WASH Updates • 2026-09-15

Executive Summary

Country: occupied Palestinian territory Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

                    Please refer to the attached file.
                    Highlights

Between January and August 2026, more than 1,600 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage were documented across 275 communities, averaging 6.7 attacks per day, up from five per day in 2025. Some 846,000 students began the new school year in the West Bank amid continued access constraints, while regular schooling remains disrupted for more than 4,000 displaced students, and 19 schools remain inaccessible, closed or abandoned. In Gaza, preparations are underway for the new academic year, planned to begin on 19 September, including through 359 temporary learning spaces. Two waves of demolitions in three communities in Masafer Yatta between 2 and 8 September displaced 57 people, including 27 children. So far in 2026, about 1,500 Palestinians have been displaced by demolitions across the West Bank. Vaccination efforts in the West Bank continued in response to the Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak, with nearly 50,000 vaccine doses provided and resources secured to procure an additional 400,000 doses. About 200,000 sheep and goats have received a first dose. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes and other attacks continued to hit populated areas, causing casualties and property damage and driving further displacement. Women now head nearly one in four households in Gaza, a new analysis by UN Women finds, and face greater hardship, including higher levels of inadequate shelter, housing damage, and displacement. Overcrowding, inadequate shelter and limited access to safe water and sanitation are increasing the risk of communicable disease transmission in Gaza, particularly respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhoea and acute jaundice syndrome. Winter preparedness efforts at overcrowded displacement sites remain severely constrained by funding shortages and restrictions on the entry of essential materials, leaving families exposed to flooding, strong winds and deteriorating site conditions. Denials and delays of approvals for engine oil and spare parts threaten generator-dependent water, sanitation, health and waste management services; since 1 March, 13,445 litres have been approved and 92,778 litres remain pending, data from UN 2720 Mechanism indicates. Overview As the new academic year begins across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, children continue to face barriers to safe learning due to displacement, insecurity caused by airstrikes and other attacks, damage to facilities and persistent access restrictions. Water access also remains precarious. In Gaza, 91 per cent of assessed households face moderate to high water insecurity, with many reliant on water trucking, while temporary disruptions to desalination facilities in Israel in early September also reduced water supply in both Gaza and parts of the West Bank. In Gaza, families are highly concerned about the upcoming rainy season amid funding shortfalls and restrictions on the entry of critical humanitarian supplies and equipment, limiting humanitarian partners’ ability to mitigate flooding and improve conditions at overcrowded displacement sites. West Bank The reporting period for this section is 1 to 7 September unless otherwise specified Humanitarian needs across the West Bank continued to be driven by operations by Israeli forces, settler violence, demolitions and movement restrictions, disrupting access to essential services and constraining humanitarian operations amid persistent funding shortages. Access to essential services, including health care, education and water, remained particularly affected, including by restrictions on the movement of health teams, continued disruption to education following prolonged operations and displacement, and temporary reductions in bulk water supply affecting parts of the central and southern West Bank. During the reporting period, operations by Israeli forces, settler violence and demolitions continued to result in casualties, damage to property and infrastructure, and displacement. Six Palestinians were killed, 31 Palestinians and one Israeli settler were injured, and 61 Palestinians were displaced by demolitions. In Al ‘Arrub Camp (Hebron) on 7 September and Qarawat Bani Hassan village (Salfit) on 3 September, about 30 Palestinians were detained and interrogated in each community during Israeli forces’ operations, and Palestinian homes were temporarily used by Israeli forces for detention and other purposes. In Al ‘Arrub, Israeli forces also restricted free movement by closing all gates surrounding the camp and blocking roads with earth mounds, with restrictions remaining in place for more than 24 hours following their withdrawal. Across the West Bank, Health Cluster partners continued to support life-saving and essential health services through a network of 869 health service points, including 60 hospitals, 478 primary health centers (PHCs) and 227 mobile clinic locations. Mobile clinics remain particularly important for underserved communities, including in Area C, the “Seam Zone” and H2 area of Hebron, where access for health teams remained unpredictable. Shortages of essential medicines and funding constraints further constrained access to and delivery of health care. Access to water was also affected by disruptions to bulk water supply. According to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster, during the first week of September, temporary reductions in supply from the Israeli water companies Mekorot and Hagihon affected the majority of the population primarily in the central and southern West Bank, including Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorates, following the temporary shutdown of desalination plants in Israel. Supply gradually recovered and returned to normal levels after approximately three days. Separately, as of 7 September, the breakdown since 24 July of the Beit Iba well, operated by the Israeli Mekorot company, continued to disrupt water supply to 11 communities across Nablus, Qalqiliya and Jenin governorates, affecting approximately 50,000 people. During August, 11 WASH Cluster partners implemented 124 interventions across 69 West Bank communities, including the delivery of more than 13,000 cubic metres of emergency trucked water, distribution of 270 water storage tanks and 3,840 hygiene kits, provision of household and community latrines, rehabilitation of water and sewage networks, and sanitation and solid-waste services for internally displaced and other vulnerable populations. Livestock-dependent communities continued to be affected by the ongoing Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. In response, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provided the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) with 49,900 doses of the FMD-SAT1 vaccine to support the emergency vaccination campaign, while the MoA secured resources to procure an additional 400,000 doses for cattle, sheep and goats across the West Bank. According to the latest data from MoA veterinary services, all cattle in the West Bank have received two vaccine doses, administered one month apart, while approximately 200,000 sheep and goats have received their first dose and require a subsequent dose to ensure full immunity. The outbreak poses particular risks to Bedouin and herding communities that depend heavily on livestock for food and income and are already affected by settler violence, displacement pressures and restricted access to grazing land and water. Meanwhile, the 2026-2027 school year began on 6 September, with approximately 846,000 students returning to schools across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, amid continued protection risks, movement restrictions and disruptions to education. This included approximately 48,000 students in UNRWA schools who began the new academic year on 7 September across 90 schools. Access remains particularly constrained in some of the affected areas. More than 4,000 students displaced from refugee camps in the northern West Bank have had their regular schooling disrupted, while six UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem remain closed. In Area C, 10 schools that had served more than 360 students were abandoned following the full displacement of the communities they served due to recurrent settler attacks and related access restrictions, three of which were subsequently demolished. In addition, 84 schools remain under pending demolition or stop-work orders, affecting nearly 13,000 students. See the Access to Education section below for further details. Casualties, Operations by Israeli Forces and Access Disruptions Between 2 and 8 September, Israeli forces shot and killed six Palestinians, including two children, and Israeli forces and settlers injured 31 Palestinians, including 10 children, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Israeli forces injured 15 Palestinians, the majority during raids and other operations, while Israeli settlers injured 16. A Palestinian man stabbed and injured an Israeli settler near Nablus. Two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces on 2 September in Al Mughayyir village, Ramallah governorate, amid a sharp increase in settler attacks affecting the village. Since January 2026, more than 56 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or property damage have been documented in Al Mughayyir, averaging about seven incidents per month, more than double the monthly average during the preceding three years. Since January 2023, seven Palestinians have been killed and about 150 injured in the village in the context of settler attacks. The 2 September incident followed a series of attacks, harassment and access restrictions by settlers involving livestock in and around the village. According to the village council, Israeli settlers took 72 sheep belonging to a Palestinian family, while Israeli media, citing the Israeli military, reported that Israeli forces entered the village to retrieve livestock claimed to belong to Israelis. During the ensuing raid, Israeli forces shot and killed the two children. The increase in settler attacks has coincided with settlement and outpost expansion and prolonged access restrictions. Al Mughayyir, home to about 3,300 Palestinians, is surrounded by eight settlement outposts, five of which have been established since mid-2024, including two in Area B. Palestinian access to agricultural and grazing land has become increasingly restricted, while the village’s main entrance from Road 458 (the Allon Road) has remained closed by Israeli forces since mid-2023. Separately, on 4 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man near Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem after he allegedly attempted to stab soldiers, according to the Israeli military; no Israeli injuries were reported. On 7 September, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured five others in Hajja, Qalqiliya governorate, during a raid in which Palestinians thew stones at the forces. This followed the entry of armed Israeli settlers into the community, where they reportedly held the homeowner for a short period following a verbal altercation. Between 7 and 8 September, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men during separate operations in Qabalan and Aqraba villages in Nablus governorate. In Qabalan, Israeli forces closed the village’s four main entrances and surrounded a Palestinian home for about six hours, shooting and killing a Palestinian man and withholding his body. According to the Israeli military, the man had carried out a stabbing attack earlier that day near Osarin village, in which an Israeli settler was injured, and subsequently attempted to stab soldiers during the operation. Tear gas fired near two schools resulted in four schoolgirls requiring treatment, while about 30 Palestinian men were later detained and interrogated in a Palestinian house for approximately five hours before being released. In Aqraba, Israeli forces surrounded a Palestinian home for about five hours before shooting and killing a Palestinian man. Israeli forces fired projectiles at the house and used a military bulldozer, rendering it uninhabitable and displacing two women. According to the Israeli military, the man attempted to attack soldiers during the operation. Settler Violence During the reporting period, 32 attacks by Israeli settlers were reported that resulted in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both, including recurrent attacks affecting Palestinian access to water, agricultural and grazing land, livelihoods and homes. Water infrastructure was affected in at least four incidents. In Al Hadidiya (Tubas), settlers took about 30 water tanks used for livestock and began fencing grazing land, further restricting Palestinian access. In Beit Imrin (Nablus), settlers damaged about 10 metres of a water pipeline, disrupting water supply to a household for four days. Water pipelines or household fittings were also damaged in Al Aqaba (Tubas) and East Tayba Bedouin community (Ramallah) where families rely on trucked water. Settler attacks also affected agricultural livelihoods and essential infrastructure across several communities. In Khallet al Louza (Bethlehem), settlers damaged seasonal crops planted on six dunums (1.5 acres) belonging to three families, while in Silwad (Ramallah), they uprooted and destroyed at least four mature olive trees. In Beita (Nablus), settlers attacked livestock facilities and damaged electricity and other infrastructure, while four Palestinians were injured. In Al Masudiya (Nablus), damage to electricity infrastructure resulted in a three-day power outage affecting about 12 families. In Khirbet Abu Falah (Ramallah), settlers dismantled parts of an agricultural structure and took metal sheets from land that the affected Palestinians have reportedly been prevented from accessing since May, following the establishment of a nearby settlement outpost. These incidents occurred amid a continued increase in both the frequency and geographic spread of settler attacks across the West Bank. Between January and August 2026, more than 1,600 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties and/or property damage were documented, an average of 6.7 attacks per day, compared with five per day in 2025 and 1.5 per day in 2021. During the first eight months of 2026, attacks affected 275 Palestinian communities, nearly as many as the 279 communities affected during all of 2025 and more than double the 116 communities affected in 2020 (see graph below).

Sector Implications & Context

This update highlights continuous developments across global rural water access, climate adaptation, and emergency WASH infrastructure. Sustainable deployment in vulnerable communities requires appropriate technology selection aligned with local hydrogeological realities.

Original Source & Verification