Aid worker killings rose nearly a third to almost 400 last year, the most deadly year since records began in 1997, and the conflict in Gaza is continuing to cause high death rates for humanitarian staff in 2025, UN and other data showed.
In 2024, 383 aid workers were killed, nearly half of them in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, the UN said yesterday, citing a database.
“Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs in a statement.
So far this year, 265 aid workers have been killed, according to provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database, a US-funded platform that compiles reports on major security incidents affecting aid workers.
Of those, 173 were in Gaza in Israel’s near two-year offensive against Hamas, launched after the deadly October 7, 2023 cross-border attacks, the provisional data showed.
In one incident in Gaza that drew international condemnation, 15 emergency and aid workers were killed by Israeli fire in three separate shootings in March, before being buried in a shallow grave.
Israeli officials said the country is studying Hamas’ response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, although one source reiterated that all Israeli captives must be freed for the war to end.
Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City at the heart of the Palestinian enclave.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar have been pushing proposals to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan.
The proposals include the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official.
Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well.
Israel says a total of 50 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of them still alive.
“Israel’s policy is consistent and has not changed. Israel demands the release of all 50 hostages in accordance with the principles established by the cabinet for ending the war. We are in the final decisive stage of Hamas and will not leave any hostage behind,” an Israeli political source said.
The comment, while adamant, fell short of an outright rejection of the proposal on the table.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said the 60-day truce deal would include “a pathway to a comprehensive agreement to end the war.”
The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75 per cent of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine.
Israel had previously agreed to the outline, advanced by US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations faltered over some of its details. The last round of talks ended in deadlock in late July.
Thousands of people fearing an imminent Israeli ground offensive are estimated to have fled the area in the past few days for points to the west and south in the shattered territory.
On the ground, there were no signs of a ceasefire nearing as Israeli gunfire, tank shelling and air strikes killed at least 20 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
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