Record 383 aid workers killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half in Gaza: UN
United Nations (AP): A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, the UN humanitarian office said Tuesday on the annual day honouring the thousands of people who step into crises to help others.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the record number of killings must be a wake-up call to protect civilians caught in conflict and all those trying to help them.
“Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy,” Fletcher said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day.
“As the humanitarian community, we demand — again — that those with power and influence act for humanity, protect civilians and aid workers and hold perpetrators to account.”
The Aid Worker Security Database, which has compiled reports since 1997, said the number of killings rose from 293 in 2023 to 383 in 2024, including over 180 in Gaza.
Most of the aid workers killed were national staff serving their communities who were attacked while on the job or in their homes, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA.
So far this year, the figures show no sign of a reversal of the upward trend, OCHA said.
There were 599 major attacks affecting aid workers last year, a sharp increase from the 420 in 2023, the database's figures show. The attacks in 2024 also wounded 308 aid workers and saw 125 kidnapped and 45 detained.
There have been 245 major attacks in the past seven plus months, and 265 aid workers have been killed, according to the database.
One of the deadliest and most horrifying attacks this year took place in the southern Gaza city of Rafah when Israeli troops opened fire before dawn on March 23, killing 15 medics and emergency responders in clearly marked vehicles.
Troops bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later.
“Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on the people we serve,” the UN's Fletcher said. “Violence against aid workers is not inevitable. It must end.”
According to the database, violence against aid workers increased in 21 countries in 2024 compared with the previous year, with government forces and affiliates the most common perpetrators.
The highest number of major attacks last year were in the Palestinian territories with 194, followed by Sudan with 64, South Sudan with 47, Nigeria with 31 and Congo with 27, the database reported.
As for killings, Sudan, where civil war is still raging, was second to Gaza and the West Bank with 60 aid workers losing their lives in 2024. That was more than double the 25 aid worker deaths in 2023.
Lebanon saw 20 aid workers killed compared with none in 2023. Ethiopia and Syria each had 14 killings, about double the number in 2023, and Ukraine had 13 aid workers killed in 2024, up from 6 in 2023, according to the database.
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GT beat DC by one run in a thriller
New Delhi (PTI): Gujarat Titans beat Delhi Capitals by one run despite KL Rahul's heroic 92 off 52 balls in an Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday. Needing two off two balls to reach the victory target of 211, David Miller had a brain-fade moment when he refused a single of the penultimate delivery from Prasidh Krishna and then missed the last delivery with Kuldeep Yadav failing to beat Jos Buttler's direct throw.
Shubman Gill led from the front with a belligerent half-century to help GT post 210 for four..
Besides Gill (70 off 45 balls; 4x4s, 5x6s), Jos Buttler also chipped in with an aggressive 52 off 27 deliveries while Washington Sundar made a fiery 55 off 32 balls after the Capitals opted to bowl.
For DC, Mukesh Kumar (2/55) and Lungi Ngidi (1/24) were the pick of the bowlers.
Chasing, Rahul's knock went in vain but his 76-run opening partnership in 8.1 overs with Pathum Nissanka (41 off 24) gave momentum to DC's chase.
But thereafter, none of the DC batters could produce substantial scores before David Miller's unbeaten 20-ball 41 kept them in the hunt till the last ball.
Rashid Khan (3/17) was the pick of the bowlers for GT.
Brief Scores:.
Gujarat Titans: 210 for 4 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 70, Washington Sundar 55, Jos Buttler 52; Mukesh Kumar 2/55, Lungi Ngidi 1/24).
Delhi Capitals: 209 for 8 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 92, Pathum Nissanka 41, David Miller 41 not out; Rashid Khan 3/17).
