A Timeline of Crises in Palestine

The last year has witnessed the worst violence in the West Bank in two decades. In February 2022, Israel assassinated three Palestinians affiliated with Fatah’s armed groups in Nablus, launching an ongoing military campaign against Palestinian militants and returning to a policy of targeted killing in the West Bank for the first time in years. As hostilities continue to escalate between Palestinians and Israelis, we have created this timeline to track the violence. The timeline starts with the bombing of Gaza in August 2022.

• August 5, 2022: Israel launches air strikes against Gaza, marking the beginning of the worst violence in Gaza since the May 2021 bombardment. The airstrikes kill at least 10 people. The attack followed Israel’s arrest on July 31 of Bassam al-Saadi, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, West Bank. Following the arrest, Israel closed its crossings into Gaza, including the Karem Abu Salem commercial crossing, which blocked the entry of fuel for Gaza’s only power plant.

• August 5-6, 2022: Palestinian militants fire rockets at Israel after air strikes, including some that misfire, adding to the fatalities in Gaza.

• August 6, 2022: Israel carries out attacks against Rafah, killing seven people, including one Islamic Jihad leader.

• August 7, 2022: Islamic Jihad fires rockets from Gaza that reach five kilometers west of Jerusalem, though causing no casualties. The death toll in Gaza reaches 49 and more than 300 Palestinians sustain injuries.

• August 9, 2022: The local head of the Palestinian militant group, the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, is killed in an Israeli operation in the West Bank.

Anera responded to the attack on Gaza in several areas. Psychosocial support summer camps helped children address trauma. For four weeks, food vouchers of $100/week went to families most directly affected by the crisis. We also provided clothing vouchers worth $50-70 per family, depending on the size of the family. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, hygiene kits were also essential to provide for families affected by the crisis. Finally, Anera coordinated with the UN Shelter group to identify homes in need of repair and provided rehabilitation.

• September 25-27, 2022: Israeli authorities shut down the border crossing between Gaza and southern Israel, preventing 17,000 Palestinians from going to their jobs.

• September 28, 2022: Israeli forces in Jenin kill four Palestinians and injure 44 during a raid.

• September 29, 2022: Israeli soldiers invade a Palestinian middle school in Hebron, attacking teachers and children and spraying their faces with pepper spray. One father is assaulted and requires hospitalization for injuries.

• September 29, 2022: A seven-year-old boy dies from a heart attack after Israeli soldiers accuse him and his brother of throwing stones at them and chase him to his home.

• September 30, 2022: Israeli soldiers abduct six Palestinians in Hebron and shoot two young men and abduct a teenage boy north of Ramallah.

• October 1, 2022: An 18-year-old boy is shot dead in East Jerusalem, making the death toll of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem reach at least 100 this year.

• October 2, 2022: Two Palestinian Red Crescent Society medics, part of emergency medical teams, are assaulted.

• October 5, 2022: Israeli soldiers block the entrances of the central warehouses of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

• October 24, 2022: Israeli forces blow up explosives in a laboratory and exchange gunfire with Palestinians in Nablus, West Bank.

• October 25, 2022: Six Palestinians are killed in a major Israeli raid against a militant group in Nablus.

• November 15, 2022: An 18-year-old Palestinian stabbed two Israelis to death and ran over a third with a vehicle near Ariel in the West Bank.

• November 28, 2022: Israeli forces demolish two Palestinian-owned houses in Hebron and order the demolition of an elementary school in south Hebron.

• November 29, 2022: In separate incidents across the West Bank, Israeli soldiers shoot seven Palestinians with live fire, killing three, and injuring others with tear gas, concussion grenades, and pepper spray.

• November 30, 2022: Five Palestinian men are killed by Israeli forces in four separate incidents in the West Bank. Four are shot in clashes and one is shot after ramming his car into a soldier.

• November 30, 2022: Israeli soldiers arrest and hold without charge ten Palestinians in Ramallah, West Bank.

• December 11, 2022: Israeli forces kill a 16-year-old Palestinian girl amid a gun battle with militants in Jenin.

• December 25-26, 2022: Israeli forces open ducts in dams east of Deir Al Balah, Gaza, which leads – amid heavy rains – to flooding in Gaza.

In response to the flooding in Gaza, Anera, with the help of IRUSA, expanded a stormwater network in Al Fukhari, constructing a stormwater pipeline and separating it from the wastewater networks near Shejaiya schools. Anera also rehabilitated 20 homes vulnerable to flooding in the south and middle of Gaza. About 55,100 Gazans benefited from Anera’s winter flooding mitigation interventions.

• January 5, 2023: The longest-serving Palestinian prisoner, convicted of kidnapping and murdering an Israeli soldier, was released after 40 years in jail.

• January 19, 2023: Israeli forces shoot and kill a 57-year-old Palestinian teacher who was giving first aid to a fatally wounded resistance fighter in Jenin.

• January 26, 2023: Ten Palestinians are killed in an Israeli raid in Jenin, West Bank. Some 20 more Palestinians are seriously injured. Bulldozers destroy a number of cars and damage buildings and infrastructure. Several apartments are also destroyed. During the raid, Israeli forces fire tear gas near the Jenin Hospital, necessitating the evacuation of patients. The raid prompts Palestinian demonstrations across the West Bank and leads Palestinian leaders to announce an end to security coordination with Israel.

• January 27, 2023: Gazans fire several rockets toward southern Israel.

• January 27, 2023: Israeli forces bomb Gaza in response to rocket fire.

• January 28, 2023: Seven Israelis are killed by a Palestinian gunman in East Jerusalem.

• January 28, 2023: A 13-year-old Palestinian boy shoots and injures two Israeli men in East Jerusalem.

• January 29, 2023: Israel’s security cabinet has approved measures to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns.

• February 6, 2023: Five Palestinians are killed in the Aqabet Jabr refugee camp near Jericho. The camp had been under siege for a week prior to the raid.

• February 10, 2023: Two Israelis are killed in a car-ramming attack in East Jerusalem.

• February 20, 2023: Israel declares a temporary pause on settlement building.

• February 22, 2023: 11 Palestinians are killed and over 100 people injured in a raid in Nablus.

• February 22, 2023: Six rockets are fired out of Gaza into southern Israel in revenge for the Nablus incursion.

• February 23, 2023: Israeli forces shoot in the head a young Palestinian police officer, who was also an undergraduate student, at the Arroub refugee camp. He succumbs to his wounds by the next day.

• February 24, 2023: Israeli troops kill at least 11 Palestinians and wounded dozens more during a raid in Nablus.

• February 26, 2023: Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Jordan, pledging to de-escalate surging violence.

• February 26, 2023: Two Israeli settlers are killed in Hawara (near Nablus), West Bank by a Palestinian gunman.

• February 26, 2023: A Palestinian is killed and hundreds of others are injured as scores of homes are set on fire in Hawara by Israeli settlers.

In response to the recent escalations in the Palestinian territories, Anera is prepared to provide food and hygiene vouchers to communities affected by the violence and other disruptions. Anera’s medical donations team will coordinate with local partners, including hospitals and clinics, to determine specific needs and provide medicines and healthcare supplies for emergency medical services.

• March 2, 2023: The Israeli army lifts the three-day blockade on Jericho after killing a man claimed to be responsible for killing an American-Israeli. A strike takes place in protest of the Palestinian man’s killing. At least 3 Palestinians are critically injured in Jericho.

• March 7, 2023: A total of 10 Palestinians are killed in or as a result of an Israeli army raid in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

• March 7, 2023: In Ramallah, Israeli soldiers are filmed dancing with settlers while an attack takes place, involving tear gas, live ammunition, hatchets, rocks, and pepper spray. One attack targets a family of five in a car, including an elderly man and a toddler.

• March 9, 2023: A member of the Hamas group opens fire in Tel Aviv, wounding three people before being killed by Israeli police.

• March 10, 2023: An Palestinian man who the Israeli military said was planning an attack is killed by an Israeli settler near the city of Qalqilya. A 16-year-old boy is also killed by soldiers during clashes in the area.

• March 12, 2023: Israeli forces shoot and kill three Palestinian men who opened fire on soldiers.

• March 12, 2023: As of March 12th, 84 Palestinians are reported to have been killed by Israeli forces in 2023.

• March 16, 2023: At least four Palestinians, including a teenager, are killed in an Israeli army raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

• March 18, 2023: Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man near Ramallah in the West Bank who was suspected to be approaching them with a knife

• March 19, 2023: A 30-year-old Israeli man was wounded by a Palestinian in a vehicle in the West Bank. The Palestinian gunman was wounded and arrested by the Israeli army.

• March 23, 2023: On the first day of Ramadan, Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man in the head during a Palestinian protest in the West Bank. The man, a member of the armed group Tulkarem Brigade, was suspected of involvement in shooting attacks.

• March 23, 2023: As of March 23, Israeli occupation forces and settlers have killed 90 Palestinians in 2023, including 17 children and an elderly woman.

• March 26, 2023: Illegal Jewish settlers set a Palestinian house on fire in the town of Sinjil, near Ramallah in the West Bank. Children in the house are luckily pulled out alive after Jewish settlers throw incendiary bottles into the house in the middle of the night.

• March 26, 2023: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an armed group in Huwara in the West Bank, wounds two Israeli soldiers in a drive-by shooting. This raises fears of escalation during the month of Ramadan that coincides with Passover.

• March 27, 2023: Israeli forces injure six Palestinians including a child during a military raid in Jericho. Live ammunition, metal bullets, and tear gas canisters are fired in regions from the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp to the south of Jericho city.

• March 28, 2023: Israeli settlers injure at least six Palestinians in an attack in Huwara, West Bank. Settlers physically assault Palestinians, set fire to homes and vehicles, spray pepper spray, and damage cars, homes, and shops. The attack begins during iftar time, when Palestinian Muslims are breaking their fast.

• April 1, 2023: Israeli police kill a Palestinian man near Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. He is shot at least 10 times, after he tries to prevent them from harassing a woman who is on her way to the holy compound.

• April 1, 2023: Three Israeli soldiers are wounded in a car ramming attack near the Gush Etzion settlement complex. The attacker, believed to have served as an officer in the Palestinian Authority Intelligences services, is killed by Israeli occupation soldiers.

• April 2, 2023: An Israeli soldier kills a Palestinian man in the West Bank after he rams his car into a group of soldiers. Medics are denied access to the man.

• April 3, 2023: Israeli troops kill two Palestinian men during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus.

• April 5, 2023: Israeli forces fire stun grenades and arrest worshippers from inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. At least 12 Palestinians are injured and 400 Palestinians are arrested.

• April 5, 2023: Four missiles are fired from Gaza in response to the police raid in Jerusalem.

• April 5, 2023: Israeli planes hit multiple sites in Gaza, striking targets at a military site west of the city and a site in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of Gaza.

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