UN Rights Office: At Least 12 Palestinians Killed in West Bank since Tuesday

An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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UN Rights Office: At Least 12 Palestinians Killed in West Bank since Tuesday

An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli operations in the West Bank have killed at least 12 Palestinians since Tuesday, the United Nations Human Rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said on Friday.

"Our office has verified that at least 12 Palestinians have been killed and 40 injured by Israeli security forces since Tuesday, most of them reportedly unarmed," he told a televised briefing.

"We are also concerned by repeated comments from some Israeli officials about plans to expand settlements further still and a fresh breach of international law. We recall again that the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into territories it occupies also amounts to a war crime."

Hundreds of Jenin residents left their homes on Thursday, prompted by messages from drones fitted with loudspeakers, witnesses said, as the military demolished a number of houses on the third day of a major operation in the West Bank city.
The operation, involving large columns of vehicles backed by helicopters and drones, was launched in the first week of a ceasefire in Gaza that saw the first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since a brief truce in November 2023.
Israeli officials said the Jenin operation was aimed at what the military said were Iranian-backed militant groups in the refugee camp adjacent to the city, a major hub for armed Palestinian groups for years.



Rebuilding Gaza Will Cost Over $50 Billion, Says World Bank 

Palestinians walk past tents lining the streets amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians walk past tents lining the streets amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Rebuilding Gaza Will Cost Over $50 Billion, Says World Bank 

Palestinians walk past tents lining the streets amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians walk past tents lining the streets amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on February 18, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

The World Bank, United Nations and the European Union are pointing to a formidable international reconstruction effort ahead for Gaza, which they estimate will cost $53.2 billion.

“Funding will require a broad coalition of donors, diverse financing instruments, private sector resources and significant improvements in the delivery of reconstruction materials to Gaza,” said the report released Tuesday.

The organizations said they would work with partners to devise a “strategic plan” to oversee the recovery and reconstruction.

The report identified almost $30 billion in damage as a result of the war — with nearly half of that due to destruction of homes. The war has displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population, and since a ceasefire took effect last month, many displaced Palestinians have returned to find their former homes in ruins.

The report said Gaza would require about $20 billion for recovery and reconstruction needs over the next three years.

It says an additional $33 billion will be needed in the long term, including funds to rebuild the territory’s social and health services and the battered economy.