The United Nations has reported a record 281 humanitarian aid workers were killed in global conflict zones this year.
The figure for 2024 has surpassed last year's total of 280 with 39 days left to go, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Humanitarian personnel "are working courageously and selflessly in places like Gaza, Sudan, Lebanon, Ukraine and so on," said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke.
"They show the best humanity has to offer, and they are getting killed in return."
Which Region Has the Highest Worker Death Toll?
Raging conflict in the Middle East has been the single biggest cause.
The Aid Worker Security Database, which tracks incidents of violence against aid workers and is managed by the U.K.-based group Humanitarian Outcomes, revealed that 268 of those killed were national staff members, while 13 were international workers.
Workers from non-U. N. organizations such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent are included in the figures.
Over 230 deaths occurred in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, although the database did not specify whether the fatalities took place in Gaza or the West Bank.
Aid workers in Gaza face extraordinary risks. Israel's attacks have continued since the conflict between Israel and Hamas reignited on Oct. 7, 2023 after the Iran-backed militant group attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. Today, 100 Israelis are still missing with many thought to be dead, while the grim milestone was passed this week of 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza having been killed in the conflict.
On Thursday the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant
OCHA reported that 333 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began.
World Central Kitchen Convoy Attack in Gaza
One of the most devastating incidents against aid workers this year was in Gaza on April 1, when an Israeli airstrike hit a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy, killing seven workers delivering over 100 tons of food.
The convoy had been clearly marked and was operating inside an area designated as deconflicted, in coordination with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). WCK CEO Erin Gore called the strike an "unforgivable" attack on humanitarian workers.
Operations were paused as a result, worsening the famine risk for people already starving.
"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war," she said.
Violence Against Aid Workers Extends Beyond Gaza
Laerke said the threats to aid workers "extend beyond Gaza, with high levels of violence, kidnappings injuries, harassment and arbitrary detention" reported in Afghanistan, Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen and elsewhere.
In April, during the conflict between Sudan's military and the Rapid Support Forces, 25 aid workers were killed.
Red Cross and Red Crescent Representative Jagan Chapagain told reporters at this year's U.N. General Assembly in New York that eight of their workers had been killed in Sudan while wearing the organizations' insignia.
"This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid operations," said U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher in a statement. "States and parties to conflict must protect humanitarians, uphold international law, prosecute those responsible, and call time on this era of impunity," he said.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press
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