Zionist entity forces killed 181 of 383 aid workers in 2024
GENEVA: 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 on Tuesday, 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 the Zionist entity's near two-year genocidal war on Gaza, the provisional data showed. This year, 36 aid workers have so far been killed in Sudan and three in Ukraine, the database showed. In one incident in Gaza that drew international condemnation, 15 emergency and aid workers were killed by Zionist forces in three separate shootings in March, before being buried in a shallow grave.
Aid workers enjoy protection under international humanitarian law but experts cite few precedents for such cases going to trial, with concerns about ensuring future access for aid groups and difficulty proving intent cited as impediments. 'It is catastrophic, and the trend is going in right the opposite direction of what it should,' said Jens Laerke, UN humanitarian office spokesperson. — Reuters
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Kuwait Times
9 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Zionist entity forces killed 181 of 383 aid workers in 2024
KHAN YUNIS: Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed by Zionist forces in March 2025. — AFP GENEVA: 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 on Tuesday, 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 the Zionist entity's near two-year genocidal war on Gaza, the provisional data showed. This year, 36 aid workers have so far been killed in Sudan and three in Ukraine, the database showed. In one incident in Gaza that drew international condemnation, 15 emergency and aid workers were killed by Zionist forces in three separate shootings in March, before being buried in a shallow grave. Aid workers enjoy protection under international humanitarian law but experts cite few precedents for such cases going to trial, with concerns about ensuring future access for aid groups and difficulty proving intent cited as impediments. 'It is catastrophic, and the trend is going in right the opposite direction of what it should,' said Jens Laerke, UN humanitarian office spokesperson. — Reuters
Kuwait Times
9 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Gulf Group welcomes UN listing of Israeli occupation for sexual violence
NEW YORK: The Gulf Group at the United Nations welcomed the inclusion of the Israeli occupation in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on sexual violence during armed Group described the decision as a 'first and essential step' toward accountability and recognition of violations committed against the Palestinian people. The remarks were delivered by Kuwait's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Tareq Al-Bannai, on behalf of the Gulf Group, during a UN Security Council session on Women, Peace and Security. The Council discussed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' comprehensive report on sexual violence in armed conflict, covering the period from January to December said the report's findings remind the world it remains far from its goals despite repeated commitments, adding that sexual violence continues as a weapon of war, terror, and political repression. The Gulf states, he added, cannot ignore that sexual violence is used to forcibly displace populations, tear apart societies, and spread fear among civilians. He condemned the Israeli occupation's refusal to allow UN officials access to the occupied Palestinian territory, calling this an 'unacceptable obstruction' of investigative efforts and urged immediate and unconditional facilitation of such visits. Al-Bannai also drew attention to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Myanmar, where entire communities have endured collective trauma from widespread sexual violence, often with ethnic targeting. He called on all parties to cooperate with the UN, ensure documentation of crimes, protect survivors, and prevent reprisals. The ambassador warned that the persistence of such crimes undermines peace and security, affirming that accountability is not optional but a legal and moral duty, and survivors must see justice delivered through national courts or international mechanisms where necessary. The Gulf Group expressed support for the Secretary-General's recommendations, including sanctions such as travel bans, asset freezes, and the recognition of sexual violence as a standard criterion for sanctions regimes. The statement also called for vetting of armed and security forces to exclude perpetrators and for binding provisions against sexual violence in ceasefire and peace underscored the importance of deploying Women Protection Advisers with sustainable UN funding, alongside survivor rehabilitation and awareness concluded that sexual violence in conflict is not inevitable but a preventable crime, ending it requires political will, accountability, and unwavering support for survivors.' We owe it to the victims and survivors whose suffering has been documented in this report, and to those whose stories may never be told, to turn words into tangible action,' he said. — KUNA
Kuwait Times
11 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
US says Zionists' turn to ‘comply' as Hezbollah disarming begins
Barrack promises 'progress on all sides' in the next few weeks BEIRUT: US envoy Tom Barrack on Monday called on the Zionist entity to honour commitments under a ceasefire that ended its war with Hezbollah, after the Lebanese government launched a process to disarm the militant group. Under the November truce, which ended more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war between the Zionist entity and Hezbollah, the Lebanese group was to withdraw its fighters from near the country's southern border and weapons were to come under the control of the Lebanese state. The Zionist entity was to withdraw its troops from Lebanon but has yet to do so and has continued to strike Lebanon. 'There's always a step-by-step approach but I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They've taken the first step. Now what we need is (the Zionist entity) to comply,' Barrack said following a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. 'We're all moving in the right direction,' he said after meeting parliament speaker Nabih Berri. Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said the Zionist entity's commitment to the ceasefire and its troop withdrawal was 'the gateway to stability in Lebanon', a statement said. 'Progress' Asked by reporters whether he expected to see the Zionist entity fully withdraw from Lebanese territory and stop its violations, Barrack said that 'that's exactly the next step' needed. 'We need participation on the part of (the Zionist entity), and we need an economic plan for prosperity, restoration and renovation,' the US diplomat added, with Lebanon weighed down by an economic crisis. Barrack said Washington was 'in the process of now discussing with (the Zionist entity) what their position is', adding that 'in the next few weeks you're going to see progress on all sides.' 'It means a better life for the people ... and at least the beginning of a roadway to a different kind of dialogue' in the region, he said. Smoke rises from the site of a Zionist entity airstrike that targeted the outskirts of the village of Kfartibnit in the district of Nabatieh on August 15, 2025. The visit comes after Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by year end - an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago. The cabinet has also tackled a US proposal that includes a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament, with Washington pressing Lebanon to take action. The cabinet endorsed the introduction of the US text, which lists 11 objectives including to 'ensure the sustainability' of the ceasefire, and to phase out 'the armed presence of all non-state actors, including Hezbollah' across all Lebanese territory. It also provides for demarcating Lebanon's land borders, and a process involving the international community to support reconstruction. 'Lebanese process' Aoun told Barrack that what was needed was for 'other parties to adhere to the contents' of the joint declaration, 'more support for the Lebanese army', and expedited steps towards reconstruction, the presidency said. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Washington needed to 'fulfil its responsibility in pressuring (the Zionist entity) halt hostilities', withdraw troops and release Lebanese prisoners it holds. On Friday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem vowed to fight plans to disarm, saying that 'the resistance will not surrender its weapons while ... occupation persists'. On Sunday, Aoun told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel authorities would do 'everything possible ... to spare Lebanon any internal or external shock'. If Lebanon rejected the US plan, 'then (the Zionist entity) will intensify its attacks, Lebanon will be economically isolated, and none of us will be able to respond to the aggression', he said. Barrack on Monday stressed that 'dealing with Hezbollah, as we've always said, is a Lebanese process'. — AFP
