Today's top news: World Humanitarian Day, Occupied Palestinian Territory
UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
World Humanitarian Day
Attacks on aid workers hit another record, humanitarians call for urgent action
Today on World Humanitarian Day, OCHA is calling for urgent action as attacks on aid workers hit another record.
With 383 aid workers killed last year - a shocking new high - OCHA says this must be a wake-up call to protect all civilians in conflict and crisis and call time on impunity.
Most of the aid workers killed were national staff serving their communities. Last year, an additional 308 aid workers were wounded, 125 kidnapped and 45 detained.
The 31 per cent surge in aid worker deaths in 2024 compared to the previous year was driven by the relentless conflicts in Gaza, where 181 humanitarian workers were killed, and in Sudan, where 60 lost their lives. In Gaza, 520 aid workers - mostly UNRWA staff - have been killed since October 2023, in the deadliest place for humanitarians.
"This is more than a statistical spike," said Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, speaking in Geneva today. "It is a stain - the normalization of violence against this community. Each attack on a colleague is an attack on all of us and we do not accept it. Enough."
Tragically, the first eight months of this year show no sign that this disturbing trend is reversing. As of 14 August, 265 aid workers have been killed, according to provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database.
On World Humanitarian Day, aid workers and their supporters commemorate those killed and stand in solidarity with those serving people in need - demanding urgent protection for civilians and aid operations.
Occupied Palestinian Territory
More shooting incidents reported along aid routes
OCHA says that every day and every night, aid workers in Gaza courageously put themselves in harm's way to keep others alive. The world cannot look away while attacks on aid workers and on the people they try to help have become routine. OCHA urges leaders to summon the same courage to end this war, bring perpetrators to justice, and give space for healing to begin.
Over the past 24 hours, there have been more reports of casualties in shooting incidents that occurred along routes designated for aid convoys, where crowds often wait to take supplies from the back of trucks. Such shooting incidents have been reported in Israeli-militarized areas in North Gaza, Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, there are reports of intense hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups. Over the past 24 hours, this has included air strikes and shelling across five neighbourhoods of Gaza city, with reports of tanks and ground troops advancing.
Yesterday, UN and NGO officials working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned of the impact of the intensified offensive in Gaza city announced by Israeli authorities, which will result in further mass displacement. They said that it will have a horrific impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of the basics needed for survival. Forcing hundreds of thousands to move south is a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forcible transfer.
The UN and NGOs stressed that their teams will remain in Gaza city to provide life-saving support as part of their commitment to serve people wherever they are. They also reminded parties of their obligation to protect civilians - including humanitarian workers and those who cannot or choose not to move - and safeguard humanitarian facilities and other civilian infrastructure.
The officials welcomed the Israeli announcement that tents and other shelter equipment will again be allowed into Gaza but said it is deeply troubling that it comes in connection with a looming offensive. The humanitarian community will seize the lifting of the shelter ban to bring tents, shelter materials, and other non-food items into all parts of the Gaza Strip, including through the northern crossings and to Gaza city. But this scale-up will only take effect as quickly, and to the extent, that systematic restrictions are addressed, and this includes Israeli customs clearance and inaccessibility and insecurity at crossings, among other challenges.
OCHA says that a continuing challenge - affecting shelter and other sectors - are the new registration requirements for internationalNGOs, which in practice is preventing many humanitarian partners from bringing supplies into Gaza. To secure registration, international NGOs are required to share sensitive personal information about Palestinian employees, often contrary to their countries' domestic legislation, and submit to conditionalities which could affect their ability to advocate for protection of civilians and humanitarian space.
OCHA also warns that starvation in Gaza persists, as incoming supplies remain far from sufficient and do not necessarily reach the most vulnerable. The UN and its partners call for a significant scale-up of private sector operations, as well as for full facilitation of community-based deliveries by a wide range of local and international humanitarian organizations with supplies allowed to enter through all crossings, including those leading directly to the north.
*Donations made to UN Crisis Relief help UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs reach people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory with urgent support.
19 August 2025
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