UN: Gaza Epicenter of Record Aid Worker Deaths in 2024
Nearly half of the 383 global fatalities occurred under Israeli bombardment, raising alarm over impunity and “engineered starvation”
United Nations/Gaza – PUREWILAYAH.COM – The United Nations has confirmed that 2024 was the deadliest year ever recorded for humanitarian workers, with 383 aid personnel killed worldwide. Nearly half of those deaths occurred in Gaza, where hospitals, ambulances, and relief convoys were repeatedly struck during Israel’s military campaign.
Marking World Humanitarian Day, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher condemned the toll, calling it a “moral stain” on the international community.
“Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy,” he said. “Those with power and influence must act for humanity—protect civilians and aid workers, and hold perpetrators to account.”
Gaza: The Deadliest Zone
According to the Aid Worker Security Database, fatalities rose sharply from 293 in 2023 to 383 in 2024. More than 180 of the deaths were in Gaza, where the majority of those killed were Palestinian staff serving their own communities. Many were targeted while on duty—or even inside their homes.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred on March 23, 2024, in Rafah, when Israeli forces attacked a convoy of marked ambulances before dawn. Fifteen medics and emergency responders were killed; their bodies and vehicles were later bulldozed into a mass grave. Rescue teams were blocked from reaching the site for a week. Fletcher described such attacks as an assault “on all of us and on the people we serve.”
The violence extended beyond Gaza. In Sudan, 60 aid workers were killed; in Lebanon, 20 lost their lives under Israeli strikes. Ethiopia and Syria each reported 14 fatalities, while Ukraine recorded 13—more than double the previous year.
Rising Attacks, Mounting Casualties
UN data showed 599 major incidents involving aid workers in 2024 alone. Beyond those killed, 308 were injured, 125 kidnapped, and 45 detained. The pattern has continued into 2025: in just the first seven months, 265 humanitarian personnel have already been killed, most of them in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Palestine has urged Israel to halt strikes on Palestinians guarding aid convoys, stressing that such personnel are protected under international law. Between late May and mid-August 2025, at least 1,760 Palestinians were killed while seeking assistance, nearly half of them near UN food distribution points.
Accusations of “Engineered Starvation”
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that nearly 1,900 “aid martyrs” have been killed while trying to secure relief, with over 14,000 others injured. The enclave’s Government Media Office accused Israel of deliberately manufacturing chaos around aid deliveries, preventing supplies from reaching warehouses and pursuing a policy of “engineered starvation.”
The UN reiterated that as the occupying power, Israel bears responsibility for civilian protection in Gaza. Fletcher and other officials stressed the urgent need for independent investigations and accountability mechanisms, warning that without justice, the systematic assault on aid workers risks entrenching the weaponisation of starvation and humanitarian collapse as tools of war. (PW)
Source: Al Mayadeen