171 UN refugee agency employees killed in Israeli war on Gaza

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said that 171 of its employees have been killed during the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023.

According to a report released by the UN agency: "As of 25 March, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since the beginning of hostilities is 171."

Throughout the war waged by Israel, multiple UNRWA facilities across the enclave have been targeted.

The most recent incident took place on March 14, when a food aid distribution center in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip became the target of an Israeli attack, resulting in the loss of eight lives.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, besides causing mass destruction, displacement, and conditions of famine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which asked Israel to do more to prevent famine in Gaza. It said: “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine ... but that famine is setting in.”

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul