The United Nations announced Monday that it would reduce its presence in Gaza by withdrawing about a third of international workers there after repeated strikes at the facility by Israel.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that the decision to reduce the organisation's footprint in Gaza was “difficult” when humanitarian needs skyrocketed and the resumption of Israeli attacks killed hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children.
The drawdown, announced on Monday, will remain present, although it will be the first time the UN has cut its workforce in Gaza since the start of the Israeli Hamas War in 2023.
“The UN has not left Gaza. The organization is committed to continuing to provide assistance that civilians are dependent on survival and protection,” Guterres said in a statement.
Guterres said at least 280 UN staff have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the biggest loss of life in conflict in its history.
United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that around 30% of the organization's 100-something international staff will leave Gaza next week, and that there is a high possibility that more will depart in the coming weeks.
Local Palestinian staff will remain in Gaza to carry out humanitarian work.
On March 19, Israeli Tank Shell collided with a UN compound in Gaza's Deilal Labara district, Dujarik said. The attack killed UN staff from Bulgaria and injured six people.
“The point is that the Israelis knew exactly where this UN facility was and were hit by shells from one of their tanks,” Dujarric said. He said the UN wanted an independent investigation and called on all fighting parties to respect the UN facilities and international law protecting humanitarian workers.
“In the initial investigation into this incident, there was no connection with the IDF,” said UN spokesman Jonathan Haronov, who mentioned the Israeli Defense Forces. He added: “Our only targets are Hamas terrorists who kill and lure Israelis, use Gazan as human shields, and use UN facilities as launch pads and weapons depots.”
The United Nations claims Israel is targeting its compounds, fleets and workers on multiple occasions in Gaza.
Since March 2, Israel has blocked all humanitarian aid in Gaza and has not had food, medicine, fuel or clean water in its way as border crossings were closed.
Israel said the militant group that led the attack on Israel, which started the war on October 7, 2023, had shattered a vulnerable ceasefire agreement with Hamas, blocking aid and resuming airstrikes as it refused to release the remaining hostages it had captured. Of the 59 remaining hostages in Gaza, less than half are believed to be alive.
Dujarric said the Israeli strike targeted ambulances and medical workers trying to save survivors of the airstrike.
