UN aid workers now target of Israel’s attacks
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has reported that more of its aid workers have been killed in Gaza than during any other conflict in the organization’s 78-year history. A total of 102 aid workers were killed and 27 wounded in Gaza since Israel’s war with Hamas began more than a month ago, making this the highest number of United Nations aid workers killed in a conflict in the history of the organization.
The recent war escalated following the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas, which led to the death of over 1,200 people in Israel and the taking of 200 hostages. Israel says it is fighting to eliminate Hamas, which it claims has embedded itself in Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres led a moment of silence at the UN headquarters in New York to honor the UN staff killed in Gaza. UNRWA emphasized that those killed were among 13,000 of its staff working in Gaza, including teachers, health workers, engineers, and support staff.
The agency provides services such as education, healthcare, and relief and social services. However, the current situation in Gaza is dire, with the healthcare system near total collapse, whole neighborhoods destroyed, and desperate living conditions for the people of Gaza due to the Israeli blockade.
UNRWA has been operating round the clock with scarce resources to support those displaced in its schools and buildings, facilitating aid deliveries, and aiding vulnerable Gazans, including pregnant women and babies. However, the agency warned that its operation has been “strangled of resources” and will be forced to entirely halt services due to a lack of fuel.
Despite international law protections, aid organizations, NGOs, journalists, and medics have also fallen victim to the fighting. Israel’s military said it “carried out a strike based on operational requirements, adjacent to a UN building” on Sunday.
Israeli airstrikes have caused direct damage to more than 60 UNRWA facilities, including schools sheltering thousands of civilians. The recent attack on one of its premises in Rafah in southern Gaza was an indication that nowhere in Gaza is safe.
The UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini emphasized that the agency’s staff in Gaza are “sharing the same living conditions as anyone else.” He added, “They’re struggling on a daily basis to find the bread, to find the water, to protect their children. And despite that, and despite the heavy loss within this organization, they remain committed to do whatever is possible to provide support to the people in Gaza. But it’s a constant daily struggle.”