The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said a Hebron Municipality estimate of about 3,000 Palestinians displaced from an area of about 350 dunums remained under verification on Oct. 29, as separate U.N. assessments documented extensive building damage in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
OCHA said the operation began Oct. 23 after two Palestinians opened fire at a checkpoint near Hebron, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring four. The attackers were also killed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was searching for weapons and what it called terrorist infrastructure.
OCHA reported that residents of the ‘Ein Deir Bahah and Jildah neighborhoods were reportedly ordered to leave. The IDF said residents could exit through three designated points after questioning and security screening. OCHA also said Israeli forces took over several homes vacated by residents for military use.
On Oct. 23, the Israeli Civil Administration, accompanied by Israeli forces, demolished an inhabited residential building with three floors, a water cistern and five commercial structures in Farsh al Hawa, OCHA said. One family of seven was displaced, and eight other families, comprising 51 people, were affected. Israeli authorities cited missing permits and security concerns linked to the shooting. OCHA said affected families relied on the demolished businesses for income. Al Jazeera quoted an unnamed Hebron resident saying, “We left with the clothes on our backs.”
The U.N. Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) identified 201,290 damaged structures in Gaza, about 82% of those in the territory, using satellite imagery dated June 16, 2026. It classified 134,422 structures as destroyed and estimated 328,627 housing units had been damaged. UNOSAT said its assessment was preliminary and had not been validated in the field.
The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) counted 52,284 buildings with some degree of damage in its southern Lebanon assessment area, principally south of the Litani River, using imagery dated June 16, 2026. The total included 24,068 destroyed buildings, 7,191 partially damaged buildings and 21,025 with minor damage. UNDP estimated direct building damage at $3.05 billion and debris at 7,007,132 cubic meters. Its review used office-based visual checks and did not include field verification.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported 333,144 internally displaced people across Lebanon as of Sept. 9, while 818,288 displaced people had begun returning to their communities. The figures cover the country, not only the south. A Sept. 28 U.N. briefing said displacement from the refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams still affected more than 33,000 residents after Israeli operations began in early 2025.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the Hebron operation raised serious concerns. “Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law,” Türk said.
