520 Aid Workers Killed in Gaza Since October 2023
August 21, 2025—On Worldwide Humanitarian Day, diplomats and humanitarians in Geneva marked the rise of incidents against aid workers. The community saw another rise in violence this year, with 265 aid workers killed so far this year. That follows a spike in 2024 of 383 humanitarians killed. Aid workers are protected by International Humanitarian Law. The rise in violence against aid workers undermines that law.
‘Normalization of Violence’
Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, condemned “the normalization of violence against this community.”
The worst place for humanitarian workers is the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza, where 520 aid workers have been killed since October 2023. Fletcher called it, “the deadliest place for humanitarians for the second year running.” Sudan, South Sudan, and the Congo were next deadliest places for humanitarians in 2024.
Accountability for Aid Workers
“Humanitarians carry hope where there is despair,” Fletcher said. “They bring humanity where there is no humanity.”
The notable rise in incidents comes at a time of funding cuts for humanitarian agencies, including those that collect data.
“The loss of funding, security risk management capacities, and in some places public acceptance, have put humanitarians at increased risk,” the Aid Worker Security Report said.
Another report noted the rise in incidents coming from state violence, resulting in 182 aid workers killed and 119 wounded in 2024. “The attacks on aid workers in Sudan occurred mostly at project sites and offices, indicating that the belligerents were directly targeting the humanitarian efforts and personnel.”
Nada al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for a renewed effort to uphold the international law, adding that it is “not optional.”
In 2024, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution aimed at instilling justice for the killings of aid workers. UN Security Council Resolution 2730 calls on States to conduct “full, prompt, impartial and effective investigations” into violations against humanitarian personnel and to “take action against those responsible.”
