‘Season of fear’: Escalating Israeli attacks on West Bank olive farmers, deadly strikes on Gaza
In the Gaza Strip, deadly Israeli airstrikes, gunfire and shelling occurred alongside incursions, demolitions and reported shifts in the so-called “yellow line” imposed by Israel since the year-old ceasefire agreement.
The attacks raised concerns and risks of further displacement, according to the latest updates from the UN emergency aid coordination office, OCHA.
Local health authorities told OCHA 57 Palestinians were reported killed and 319 injured between 29 September and 12 October, bringing the total number of casualties since the October 2025 ceasefire agreement to 1,493 fatalities and 5,299 injuries.
Meanwhile, around 950,000 displaced people have been assessed as living in sites at medium to high risk of flooding, including over 400,000 at high risk.
Available supplies offered partial assistance to only 18 per cent of the 294,250 families requiring shelter support for the rainy season, OCHA reported.
Daily cooked-meal production has declined by 12 per cent to approximately 614,000 amid funding constraints, while shortages of fuel, engine oil and essential supplies threaten the continuity of health and water services, the UN agency said.
Five Palestinians were killed and over 240 injured by Israeli forces or settler attacks in the occupied West Bank over the past two weeks, OCHA reported.
During the same period, 160 olive harvest-related settler attacks resulted in casualties, property damage or both while record demolitions displaced 96 Palestinians, the agency said.
UN independent human rights experts warned on Monday that Palestinian farmers are facing renewed threats as the annual olive harvest gets underway, urging Israel to guarantee their protection and safe access to their land.
“The olive harvest should be a time when farmers can enjoy, in safety and dignity, the food and livelihoods their nature and land provide, not another season of fear, loss, violence and destruction,” said the Human Rights Council-appointed experts, who are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.
“Israel is under an international legal obligation to end its occupation of Palestinian land, immediately cease new settlement activities, evacuate settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory and provide full reparation for the damage caused by its violations, including by returning land and allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes,” the experts said.
“The international community, especially States with power and influence, must exercise maximum pressure to protect Palestinian civilians, halt and reverse the rapidly expanding policies and practices of annexation and ensure accountability for decades of violations of Palestinian rights under international law,” they said, warning that the situation could worsen following new Israeli orders for uprooting olive trees and restrictions on farmers in the West Bank.