GAZA CITY: A senior United Nations official on Saturday expressed deep concern over the safety of UN staff in Gaza following a devastating Israeli air strike that hit a school-turned-shelter, killing 18 people including six employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The attack on the Al-Jawni School in central Gaza on Wednesday has heightened fears among UN personnel that they have become targets in the ongoing conflict.
Sam Rose, senior deputy director of UNRWA, spoke to AFP on Saturday, detailing the traumatic impact of the strike. “One colleague said that they are not wearing the UNRWA vest anymore because they feel that it turns them into a target,” Rose said during an online interview from Gaza.
This sentiment underscores the growing apprehension among UN staff who are struggling to maintain their operations amid escalating Israeli violence.
The Al-Jawni School, which had been sheltering displaced Palestinians, was severely damaged by the Israeli strike. According to Rose, the staff members who perished were gathered in a classroom for a meal when the building was struck.
“A son of one of the staff had brought a meal into the building,” Rose recounted. “They were eating when the bomb hit.” The attack has been described as the deadliest incident for UNRWA in more than 11 months of the ongoing Israeli bombardment campaign since October 7.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment campaign since October 7, has killed at least 41,182 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The violence has led to widespread displacement, with nearly all of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents having been forced to leave their homes at least once.
Rose noted that the atmosphere among UN staff at the shelter is one of profound distress and anger. “They felt that this really was a stain on the memory of dear colleagues, dear friends,” Rose said, describing the mood among staff as “bereft” and “desperate.”
UNRWA has reported that at least 220 of its employees have been killed in Gaza since October 7. On Friday, the agency also confirmed the death of one of its staff members in the occupied West Bank, marking the first such fatality in the territory in over a decade.
The international community has condemned the recent escalation in violence, which has further strained the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The relentless bombardments and high civilian casualties continue to provoke calls for a ceasefire and renewed peace efforts to address the worsening crisis.
UNRWA has more than 30,000 employees in the Palestinian territories and elsewhere.
