1,000+ aid workers killed in last three years

More than 1,000 humanitarian workers have been killed worldwide over the past three years, nearly triple the death count of the previous three-year period, the UNs said on April 8, decrying the slayings as "a symptom of a lawless, bellicose, selfish and violent world.”

From October 2023 to August 2025, Israeli attacks killed 560 aid workers in Palestine’s Gaza alone, including 346 UN staff and 51 members of the Palestinian Red Crescent. Many were killed while traveling in clearly marked convoys and on missions coordinated with authorities.

Other major hotspots include Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher. “This is not an accidental escalation — it is the collapse of protection,” Fletcher said.

At least 326 aid workers were killed across 21 countries in 2025. The year before, 2024, saw a record 383 deaths, with workers killed while delivering food, water, shelter and medicine. Between 2020 and 2022, 377 aid workers were killed in the line of duty.

The killing of humanitarian personnel is a violation of international law.