UNRWA chief says war on Gaza kills nearly 200 UNRWA workers

Israel's war on Gaza has killed nearly 200 members of the aid charity United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) since October, the head of the agency revealed on Saturday.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA,  said the toll is "by far the largest loss of personnel killed in a single conflict or natural disaster since the creation of the United Nations" in a statement on X, adding the death toll reached a "grim milestone".

Lazzarini highlighted the death of a UNRWA teacher, Ibtihal, who was killed last week with her four-month-old baby and also stated that many of these members were killed with their families or in the line of duty.

"I echo the call of the UN Secretary General for a full accountability for each and every one of these deaths," Lazzarinin said.

Since 7 October, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 39,000 Palestinian civilians, with at least 250 aid workers killed, according to the United Nations, with UNRWA members accounting for most of the aid worker deaths.

UNRWA is the main relief provider for the millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. The organisation is responsible for assisting and protecting Palestinian refugees and has provided aid to Palestinians since 7 October.

However, UNRWA has come under attack by Israel through bombardment and dangerous accusations that lack substantial evidence.

Shortly after the International Court of Justice ruled a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, Israel claimed several members of UNRWA were involved in the 7 October attacks. Despite not having hard evidence to support their claims, many nations still cut funding to the organisation.

While some have restored their funding, with Britain set to resume its donations soon, it was reported that the Israeli parliament aims to designate the organisation as a "terrorist organisation", which will make Israel sever all ties with the agency.

UNRWA has also been the target of many of Israel’s assaults, with the most recent being an airstrike on a UNRWA-run school that killed over 30 civilians.

The agency stated that nearly 190 UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed, its schools demolished, and over 500 displaced civilians have been killed while sheltering inside its schools or other structures.

The army has also rounded up its personnel in the enclave who have claimed to have been tortured and mistreated by the military, as well as facing regular harassment and humiliation at checkpoints in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.