Guterres personally devastated over inability of UN to safeguard staff in Gaza, despite best efforts [Video]

Among them were 135 women and men who worked for the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA), killed during Israeli military operations in Gaza since 7 October. Many were killed along with their families and within the communities they served.

“That is by far the highest number of our personnel killed in a single conflict or natural disaster since the creation of the United Nations – a reality we can never accept,” Secretary-General António Guterres said.

He reiterated his call for “full accountability” for the deaths.

“We owe this to their family members and friends, to their colleagues, and to the world. Our UNRWA personnel lived and died as representatives of the international community in Gaza, and that community deserves an explanation.”

Families gone too

In the Trusteeship Council, overlooked by the iconic statue of a girl – her arms raised, reaching towards a bird in flight symbolizing “Mankind and Hope” – the names of the fallen were read out.

In line with the …