Number of Palestinians Murdered Since October 7 Rises to 73,702 and the Injured Toll Reaches 182,930
Photo from Anadolu Agency
Ramallah, April 21, 2026
The OIC Media Observatory on Israeli Crimes Against Palestinians documented 145 settlement activities, including expansions and attacks, marking a significant increase in settlement expansion in the West Bank between April 14 and 20, 2026. These activities included land confiscation, the construction of settlement outposts, and their expansion, totaling 22 incidents. Settlers erected iron gates near the Old City Youth Association in Al-Quds (Jerusalem), in the town of Al-Dhahiriya in Hebron, and in the village of Al-Maniya in Bethlehem. Israeli occupation forces demolished Palestinian structures in the vicinity of the Ariel settlement in Salfit, and settlers and occupation forces bulldozed land in nine different areas in Hebron, Nablus, Salfit, and Tubas for various settlement purposes. Settlers seized the “Rujm al-Naqa” outpost in the village of Rashayda, as well as land west of Dura in Hebron. They also fenced off land near Deir Dibwan in Ramallah and the town of al-Dhahiriya, with the intention of later seizing it. They erected tents, livestock pens, and other structures for establishing settlement outposts in six different areas of the West Bank governorates and expanded a settler road in Masafer Yatta. Under the official auspices of the Israeli occupation authorities, 16 settler families returned to live in mobile homes in the previously evacuated settlement of “Sa-Nur.”
The settlement activities increased in parallel with the growing number of settler attacks, which amounted to 123 attacks in one week, during which settlers released livestock 21 times in agricultural and grazing lands in 7 different areas, smashed and burned 7 vehicles, 6 agricultural rooms, and water tanks, stole 3 private vehicles, 324 sheep, household furniture, agricultural equipment and crops, sums of money, and a mobile phone, cut off water to agricultural lands in the Khirbet al-Marajem area of Nablus, and the town of al-Auja in Jericho, cut off electricity wires in the village of Beit Ummar in Hebron, and cut tree branches in the Umm al-Batim area of Hebron.
In the West Bank, Israeli occupation forces raided Palestinian cities and villages 381 times, killing two Palestinians, injuring 28 others, arresting 191, and demolishing 18 homes, a horse stable, an agricultural nursery, a metalworking factory, a car repair and spare parts shop, a car wash, an industrial facility, and a mobile home. They also occupied three homes, converting them into military outposts, and confiscated a tractor and two vehicles. Furthermore, they bulldozed agricultural land and uprooted olive and almond trees in five villages in Hebron, Tubas, and Nablus, and destroyed an irrigation network that supplied 300,000 square meters of crops.
Regarding attacks on mosques and religious sites, Rabbi Eyal Tzinov, accompanied by a number of extremist settlers and under the protection of the occupation police, stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and performed Talmudic rituals on the steps leading to the Dome of the Rock. Settlers also approached the eastern cemetery in the town of Qaffin, near Tulkarm, and raised Israeli flags on the hill opposite it. Furthermore, the Israeli occupation forces prevented the elections for the administrative board of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Al-Quds (Jerusalem), which were scheduled for April 17, 2026. The occupation forces continued their attacks on children, killing one child and arresting four others. Settlers assaulted another child in Nablus, and occupation forces fired stun grenades and tear gas at schoolchildren in the village of Umm al-Khair, near Hebron, as they attempted to confront settlers who had prevented them from reaching their schools for seven consecutive days.
Between April 14 and 20, 2026, the occupation forces committed 1,329 crimes, targeting all Palestinian areas, including the Gaza Strip. Gaza was subjected to daily bombardment by the occupation forces, who targeted the Beit Lahia project, the Tunnel Street in Gaza City, its western areas, the Al-Mawasi refugee camp, the Khan Younis port, areas west of Deir al-Balah, and the Shuja’iyya refugee camp. They also demolished buildings east of Gaza City and Khan Younis. The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli shelling reached 22, with 94 others injured. Two Palestinian bodies were recovered, in addition to confirmation of the murder of an additional 196 Palestinians during the Israeli aggression on Gaza. This brings the total number of Palestinians murdered since October 7, 2023, to 73,702, and the number of injured to 182,902. These figures were released as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced the suspension of its operations at a water filling station east of Gaza City until the security situation improves, following the killing of two of its officials. The contractors were shot by the occupation forces while performing their work in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood.