89 UN staff killed in Gaza
Eighty nine staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were also killed in Gaza, most of them with their family members, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told a news briefing at the UN headquarters in New York yesterday.
“More journalists have reportedly been killed over a four-week period than in any conflict in at least three decades.
“More United Nations aid workers have been killed than in any comparable period in the history of our organisation.
“I joined the UN family in mourning 89 of our UNRWA colleagues who have been killed in Gaza, many of them together with members of their families.
“They include teachers, school principals, doctors, engineers, guards, support staff and a young woman named Mai. Mai did not let her muscular dystrophy or wheelchair confine her dreams. She was a top student, became a software developer and devoted her skills to working on information technology for UNRWA”, Guterres stated.
He noted that “the nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis; it is a crisis of humanity.”
Guterres said Israel’s aerial bombardments and ground operations in Gaza “are hitting civilians, hospitals, refugee camps, mosques, churches and UN facilities, including shelters.”
“No one is safe,” said the UN chief.
