Guterres ‘personally devastated’ over inability of UN to safeguard staff in Gaza

NEW YORK  (Palestine Foundation Information Center)  UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep sadness for being unable to protect UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip.

“I am personally devastated that despite our best efforts, we could not protect our personnel in Gaza,” he said in a somber ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York honoring the 188 personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2023.

Among them were 135 women and men who worked for the UNRWA, killed during the Israeli war on Gaza since October 7. 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,” 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.”