Gaza deadliest place for aid workers for third consecutive year, says UN
Gaza remains the deadliest location for aid workers, accounting for more than half of their deaths worldwide last year, the UN said in report released on Wednesday to mark World Humanitarian Day. More than 350 aid workers were killed worldwide in 2025, among more than 900 who were the victims of violence, according to the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In Gaza,…
Gaza has been identified as the most perilous location for aid workers for the third consecutive year, according to a report released by the UN on Wednesday to commemorate World Humanitarian Day. The report revealed that 186 aid workers were killed in Gaza, accounting for 68% of the fatalities in Gaza, with the majority being victims of aerial bombardment.
This grim statistic places Gaza ahead of Sudan, which recorded 71 aid worker deaths, primarily from small arms fire, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, where violence against humanitarian workers increased by 100% in 2025, with 97 workers targeted.
The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that over 350 aid workers worldwide lost their lives in 2025, alongside more than 900 who fell victim to violence. Tom Fletcher, OCHA's Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, expressed outrage over the alarming rise in aid worker deaths, stating that more than 1,000 aid workers have been killed in just three years, a situation that is "utterly unacceptable."
Kidnappings by non-state actors and criminal groups surged by nearly double from 2024, reaching 235, alongside a significant increase in serious injuries. The Aid Worker Security Database also documented 280 detentions and arrests of aid workers by state actors in 2025, with Yemen, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and Palestine accounting for 75% of these instances.
Road travel emerged as the riskiest setting for aid workers, responsible for 27% of all violent incidents, while offices, compounds, and project sites accounted for another 20%. The escalating threat posed by cheap armed drones was highlighted as a new danger for humanitarian workers, with drone strikes in Goma, DRC, and Sudan, Ukraine resulting in fatalities and damage to aid convoys.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the growing dangers faced by humanitarian workers, emphasizing that "serving others has become more dangerous than ever." World Humanitarian Day, observed annually on August 19, pays tribute to those lost, including the 22 UN staff members killed in the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad.
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