West Bank displacement continues – Vatican News

By Nathan Morley

The United Nations says nearly 60 Palestinians were displaced this week after Israeli authorities demolished homes and other structures in the Masafer Yatta area of the southern West Bank.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the demolitions occurred in two farming communities and included 20 homes and several facilities. They followed the September 2 demolition of a nearby community.

According to OCHA, 1,500 Palestinians have been displaced across the West Bank this year because of demolitions, while more than 2,600 others were displaced by settler violence and access restrictions.

In Gaza, UN agencies say a rising number of women‑headed households are facing daily hardship amid continued Israeli airstrikes and limited aid. UN Women estimates that nearly one in four households — about 86,290 families — is headed by a woman.

Sofia Calltorp, UN Women’s chief of humanitarian action, said the agency has spoken with widows and women whose husbands are missing, detained, injured or displaced. 

She described “a horrific amount of collective heartbreak” and said ongoing bombardment and restricted access to aid leave women making “impossible decisions” to keep families alive.

Despite a provisional cease-fire reached 11 months ago, OCHA said 246 Palestinian women and girls have been killed in Gaza by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. 

Calltorp cited victims including 18‑year‑old Raghad Ashour, killed on her way to a high school exam, and a six‑year‑old girl killed in a helicopter strike in Al Mawasi.