Palestine

Is Palestine safe to visit?

Gaza, no. The West Bank, only with care and only in parts. This page covers both territories, but they are very different trips. The US rates Gaza Level 4 (do not travel) and the West Bank Level 3 (reconsider travel), and the UK advises against all travel to Gaza and the northern West Bank. For Jerusalem, including the Old City, see our Israel page.

The numbers are stark. UN OCHA, citing the Gaza Ministry of Health, reports 74,032 Palestinians killed in Gaza from October 2023 to 30 September 2026, including 1,431 since the ceasefire announced on 10 October 2025. OCHA cites Israeli figures of over 1,200 people killed in Israel in the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath, and 474 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since the ground operation began. We score Palestine 40, a little below Iraq (42) and below Lebanon (45), with low confidence because crime and road data are old or missing.

Gaza: a war zone with a ceasefire

The ceasefire has reduced the fighting but not ended it. On 28 September 2026 the UN's humanitarian coordinator told the Security Council about daily airstrikes in densely populated areas, and the Ministry of Health reported 29 deaths in the week to 30 September alone. Israeli forces remain in parts of the Strip under the October 2025 agreement.

Daily life has collapsed. OCHA says 82% of structures are destroyed or damaged, only 315 of 670 health facilities work at all, and more than 1.4 million people, 67% of the population, are expected to face crisis-level food insecurity in July to December 2026. There are no air raid shelters and no sirens.

Getting in or out is the other problem. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says crossings have been closed to civilians and general traffic since the Israeli military took control of Rafah on 6 May 2024, and the Erez crossing has been closed since October 2023. OCHA reports that Rafah reopened on 2 February 2026 for limited movement, mainly medical evacuations and returning residents. Anyone who enters must be ready to stay indefinitely, as the US puts it, with food and medicine for a long period.

The West Bank: where visitors still go

Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jericho still receive tourists, including organised tours, though numbers have fallen since October 2023. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says there have been no recent reports of serious incidents involving foreigners there. The UK advises against all travel to Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates, and against all but essential travel to the rest of the West Bank, except East Jerusalem, Bethlehem governorate, Ramallah municipality and Jericho and the area south of it.

Violence has risen sharply. OCHA recorded 322 Palestinians killed in the West Bank from January 2025 to August 2026, 74 of them children, mostly by Israeli forces, and 20 Israelis killed, including eight members of Israeli forces. It counted 3,459 settler attacks that caused casualties or property damage in the same period. The FCDO warns that settlers have threatened people travelling near settlements and outposts, especially in the hills around Nablus and the south Hebron hills, and the US reports some US citizens injured or killed.

Checkpoints shape every journey. You cannot enter or leave the West Bank without passing at least one, and the FCDO says they can close on Israeli holidays and at times of tension, sometimes with little notice. After a ramming attack near Beit 'Ur al Fauqa on 23 September 2026, Israeli forces closed checkpoints across Ramallah governorate, OCHA reported.

Health care, roads and hazards

In the West Bank, the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary keeps a list of medical providers with English-speaking staff, but says care is not free and hospitals may stop you leaving until the bill is paid. The ICRC warned on 29 September 2026 that ambulances face long delays at checkpoints and roadblocks. Insurance with medical evacuation is essential; check that your policy covers the West Bank at all.

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 4.7 road deaths per 100,000 in 2021, a low rate for the region, but that was before the war wrecked Gaza's roads, and the FCDO reports frequent crashes caused by erratic driving and poor vehicle maintenance. Check that your hire car is insured for the West Bank; the FCDO says some hire companies do not cover it, and suggests hiring in East Jerusalem. Winter floods are a serious danger in Gaza's tent camps, and earthquakes are a risk across the region.

If you visit the West Bank

• Go to Bethlehem, Jericho or Ramallah by day, ideally with a local guide or licensed tour, and check the news that morning.
• Carry your passport and Israeli entry slip, and plan a way back that does not depend on a single checkpoint.
• Stay away from demonstrations, refugee camps during clashes, settlement outposts and Hebron's H2 area.
• Call 101 for an ambulance and 100 for the police.

How we scored it

Conflict (5) and health (15) are the weakest factors, driven by Gaza; the West Bank alone would score higher on both. Violent crime (70) and road safety (83) rest on figures from before the war. The weighted average is 47. The overall score is capped at 40 (conflict + 35): when conflict is this severe, good roads, health care or low crime cannot lift a country above that.