United Nations workers observed a minute’s silence on Monday to honor the more than 100 employees killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war started the previous month as UN flags flew at half mast.
Staff at UN offices in Geneva bowed their heads as a candle was lit in memory of the 101 employees of the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza.
Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations in Geneva, said, “This is the highest number of aid workers killed in the history of our organization in such a short time. We are gathered here today, united in this very symbolic location, to pay respect to our brave colleagues who sacrificed their lives while serving under the United Nations flag.”
UNRWA has said that some staff members were killed while queuing for bread while others were killed along with their families in their homes in Israel’s aerial and ground war against Hamas in response to the Oct. 7 cross-border assault by the militant group.
Besides Gaza, the next most deadly conflict for UN aid workers was Nigeria in 2011 when a suicide bomber attacked their Abuja office during an insurgency, killing 46.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths in densely populated Gaza, saying the group uses the population as human shields. Hamas denies the charge.
Valovaya said, “I would like to say that we are really facing very challenging times for multilateralism, for the world. But the United Nations is more relevant than ever.”
Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, UNRWA provides public services including schools, healthcare, and aid. Many of UNRWA’s 5,000 staff working in Gaza are Palestinian refugees themselves.
