212 UN staffers killed since start of Gaza war

UNRWA is largest humanitarian organization in Gaza, considered as backbone of humanitarian aid operations in enclave

ANKARA:

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Wednesday said that it lost 212 of its staff members since the start of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza last October.

"212 UNRWA colleagues have been killed since the war on (Gaza) began," UNRWA said in a statement on its X account.

Despite deaths, the UN agency said, it "continues to deliver humanitarian assistance wherever possible and in the most difficult circumstances."

UNRWA stressed that the humanitarian operation in Gaza "has become one of the most challenging in the world for UN right now."

Until the end of July, UNRWA said it documented 464 incidents on its premises and people inside them across the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza and is considered as the backbone of the humanitarian aid operations in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

It was created by the UN General Assembly more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from their land.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,500 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,500 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.