Afrasianet - This year marks the 78th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, as Palestinians live through a devastating war in the Gaza Strip and an unprecedented escalation of settlement and displacement in the West Bank, in a scene reminiscent of the Nakba chapters that began in 1948 and continue to be repeated in various forms.
The "Nakba" is a term given by Palestinians to the day on which Israel declared most of their territory on 15 May 1948.
According to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Palestinians in the world until 2026 will reach about 15.5 million, including 7.4 million in historic Palestine and 8.1 million in the diaspora, including 6.8 million in Arab countries.
Some 5.6 million Palestinians will live in the State of Palestine until the end of 2025, including 3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in the Gaza Strip.
The Nakba in Numbers
The agency points out that 957,000 Palestinians were displaced out of 1.4 million who resided in about 1,300 Palestinian villages and cities in 1948, to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and neighboring Arab countries, in addition to the internal displacement of thousands of them within the territories under the control of the Israeli occupation.
At the time, Israel controlled 774 Palestinian villages and towns, 531 of which were completely destroyed, while the rest were subject to occupation and its laws.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Zionist gangs committed more than 70 massacres during the Nakba, which resulted in the martyrdom of more than 15,000 Palestinians.
Israel was built on more than 85 percent of historic Palestine's 27,000-square-kilometer area.
Widespread displacement in Gaza and the West Bank
The agency noted that Israel's war of annihilation on Gaza has led to the "displacement of approximately two million Palestinians" out of about 2.2 million who were residing in the Gaza Strip on the eve of the war, many of whom are currently living in tents, shelters and schools.
He added that about 40,000 Palestinians have also been displaced from camps in the northern West Bank, as a result of ongoing Israeli military operations.
Expanding Settlement
Regarding the situation in the West Bank, the Central Bureau of Statistics said that Israeli settlement is "constantly expanding."
He explained that the number of outposts and military bases has reached 645 by the end of 2025, including 151 settlements, 350 outposts and 144 other sites.
According to official data, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank has reached about 778,567 by the end of 2024, 42.8 percent of whom are concentrated in the Jerusalem governorate.
The agency added that during 2025, the Israeli occupation authorities seized more than 5,571 dunums of Palestinian land through seizure and expropriation orders and the declaration of "state lands."
It also documented more than 61,000 attacks carried out by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank between 2022 and 2025, causing the uprooting and bulldozing of more than 81,000 trees, most of them olives.
He pointed out that the Israeli authorities continue to impose severe restrictions on Palestinians through some 900 military checkpoints and gates in the West Bank, which restricts the movement of residents and prevents access to large areas of agricultural and pastoral land.
Water crisis
The Bureau of Statistics pointed out that Israel controls more than 85 percent of Palestinian groundwater resources, by controlling the drilling of wells and preventing their development and exploitation for the benefit of the settlements.
In the Gaza Strip, the per capita water quota during the war of extermination has fallen to between 3 and 5 litres per day, well below the minimum of 15 litres by international humanitarian standards.
Widespread destruction in Gaza
In the Gaza Strip, the agency said that the Israeli war resulted in the total destruction of more than 102,000 buildings, and more than 330,000 housing units were completely or partially damaged, in addition to extensive destruction of mosques, churches, infrastructure, health and educational facilities.
In the West Bank, Israel demolished some 1,400 structures and structures in whole or in part in 2025, including 258 in East Jerusalem.
Highest number of martyrs since the Nakba
The agency pointed out that the number of Palestinians who have been martyred since Israel began its war of extermination in October 2023 until the end of April 2026 exceeded 73,761 Palestinians, including 72,601 in the Gaza Strip and 1,160 in the West Bank.
According to the data, more than 20,413 children and 12,524 women were martyred in the Gaza Strip during the same period, in addition to 3,110 medical and civil defense staff, journalists and education workers.
"The number of martyrs recorded since October 2023 represents more than 50 percent of the total number of Palestinians who have been martyred since the 1948 Nakba," the agency said.
