UN says almost half of the 383 aid workers killed worldwide died in Gaza

A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during Israel's war on Gaza, the UN humanitarian office said Tuesday, branding the figures and lack of accountability a "shameful indictment" of international apathy.

The 2024 figure was up 31 percent on the year before, the UN said on World Humanitarian Day, "driven by the relentless conflicts in Gaza, where 181 humanitarian workers were killed, and in Sudan, where 60 lost their lives".

It said state actors were the most common perpetrators of the killings in 2024.

The UN said most of those killed were local staff, and were either attacked in the line of duty or in their homes.

Besides those killed, 308 aid workers were wounded, 125 kidnapped and 45 detained last year.

"Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on the people we serve," said UN aid chief Tom Fletcher.

"Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy."

"As the humanitarian community, we demand - again - that those with power and influence act for humanity, protect civilians and aid workers and hold perpetrators to account."