More humanitarian aid relief workers died in 2024 than in any other year on record, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • More humanitarian aid relief workers died in 2024 than any other year on record

  • 281 humanitarian personnel have died so far this year globally, surpassing a record 280 who were killed in 2023, according to the United Nations

  • The war in Gaza is responsible for the majority of deaths; 320 humanitarian personnel have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023

  • Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen also have high levels of violence, kidnapping, injuries, harassment and arbitrary detention of aid workers

According to OCHA, 281 humanitarian personnel have died so far this year globally, surpassing the record 280 who were killed in 2023.

“Humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, their courage and humanity being met with bullets and bombs,” OCHA Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said in a statement. “This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid operations.”

Humanitarian aid organizations provide assistance to about 116 million people globally. Fletcher called on governments and those involved in conflict to protect aid workers and to prosecute those who are responsible for their deaths.

The war in the Gaza Strip is responsible for the majority of deaths. More than 320 humanitarians have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel retaliated by invading Gaza. Most of the aid workers were staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East — a group that helps deliver food and medical supplies.

Violence against humanitarians is part of a larger trend of civilians being harmed in conflict zones, the group said. Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen also have high levels of violence, kidnapping, injuries, harassment and arbitrary detention of aid workers.