Aid workers faced record number of attacks in 2025, UN says

Gaza remains the deadliest place for humanitarian workers for third consecutive year, with 186 killed in 2025.A record number of aid workers faced violent attacks last year, partly driven by the increased use of armed drones, the United Nations humanitarian office has said.According to an Aid Worker Security Database, a platform that compiles major incidents affecting humanitarian workers, 907 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2025 alone.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Red Cross urges international aid as Sudan crisis deepenslist 2 of 3Disarmament, humanitarian aid at centre of new Gaza ‘working groups’list 3 of 3Eight countries denounce Israeli violations, attacks on healthcare in Gazaend of listOf those, 350 were killed, down slightly from a record 387 in 2024.UN ‌Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the level of violence “appalling” and urged states to respect the rules of war and hold perpetrators accountable.“Serving others has become more dangerous than ever,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the proliferation ⁠of cheap and adaptable armed drones in conflicts has ⁠increased the risks.In March, drone attacks hit Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least three people including a French aid worker, while aid convoys in Sudan and Ukraine ⁠have been repeatedly hit.Gaza was by far the most deadly place for aid workers in 2025, with 186 humanitarians ⁠killed there last year, the database showed, followed ⁠by Sudan.In a post on X, Ramiz Alakbarov, the humanitarian coordinator of the UN-palestinian-refugee-agency" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="188613" data-entity-type="organization">UN Palestinian refugee agency, said “humanitarian workers are not a target and humanitarian assistance must be fully facilitated.”UNRWA’s former chief Philippe Lazzarini said earlier this year he was seeking a high-level panel to investigate ‌staff deaths.Attacks on humanitarian workers are happening as funding for their work is increasingly being cut. In a statement, the European Commission said it would continue its donor obligations, adding “every aid worker killed is not only a personal tragedy; it is also a failure by the international community to uphold its most basic commitments.”