Since October 7, 88 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have died as a result of hostilities in the Gaza Strip. This is the largest number of UN personnel casualties ever recorded in a single conflict, as stated in a joint statement by UN humanitarian organizations.
The statement also mentions that according to Israeli authorities, around 1,400 people have died in Israel, with thousands wounded, and over 200 people, including children, have been taken hostage.
The organizations also report nearly 9,500 fatalities in the Gaza Strip, including 3,900 children, citing data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is controlled by Hamas militants.
"We once again call on the parties [to the conflict] to uphold their commitments under international humanitarian law. We again urge for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held hostage. Additional assistance, including food, water, medicine, and, of course, fuel, must flow into Gaza safely, rapidly, and at the necessary scale. We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It’s been 30 days. Enough is enough. This must stop now," reads the statement.
The statement was signed by representatives of 17 United Nations agencies, including the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Deputy UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Volker Türk, the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) António Vitorino, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Catherine Russell, and others.
