UNRWA Chief: Death Toll Among Staff in Gaza War Highest in UN History
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The ongoing Israeli war in Gaza has resulted in the largest loss of personnel for the UNRWA, with nearly 200 staff members killed, marking the highest death toll in a single conflict in the history of the United Nations.
"Nearly 200 UNRWA team members have been killed in Gaza," the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on X, on Saturday.
"This is by far the largest loss of personnel killed in a single conflict or natural disaster since the creation of the United Nations – a reality the world must never accept," he added.
Reflecting on the war's duration, Lazzarini expressed regret, saying, "When the war in Gaza started nearly 10 months ago, no one thought we would reach this grim milestone."
"These are not numbers, these are our colleagues and our friends," Lazzarini said, echoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for full accountability for each of the deaths.
UNRWA provides essential services to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. However, the agency has struggled to deliver these services amid the ongoing genocidal war, which has resulted in at least 39,258 Palestinian deaths, predominantly women and children.
Earlier this year, Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in a retaliatory attack by Gaza’s resistance groups, prompting the current war. Since then, UNRWA staff have faced increasingly violent protests and misinformation campaigns led by the Israeli regime.
Recently, the Knesset, Israel's parliament, gave preliminary approval to a bill labeling UNRWA as a "terrorist organization." The legislature also approved two other bills banning the agency from operating in territories occupied by Israel and stripping UNRWA personnel of their legal immunities and privileges typically granted to United Nations staff.
