Acting UN relief chief outraged at killings of aid workers in Gaza, Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — The acting UN relief chief is outraged at the rising number of aid workers killed in conflict zones, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.
Joyce Msuya, acting under-secretary-general heading up the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), pointed out the latest slayings occurred soon after the World Humanitarian Day on Aug. 19.
In addition to the six workers for the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, who were killed on Wednesday by an air strike in Gaza, three staff from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed in a shelling in Ukraine on Thursday.
Msuya said that, like all civilians, aid workers must be protected — they are not a target.
In Ukraine, ICRC reported that their staff members were killed when a planned aid distribution site on the front lines in the Donetsk region, in the east of the country, came under shelling. Two other staff were wounded when shelling struck the organization’s vehicles.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the death of at least 18 people, including children, women, and six UNRWA staff, in Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday that hit a school serving as a shelter in Nuseirat, raising the number of UNRWA staff killed in the Gaza conflict to 220.
The Israeli Defense Forces said they had targeted a command-and-control center in the school compound.
The chief spokesman for Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, told a regular briefing on Thursday the incident must be independently and thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability.
“The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable,” Dujarric said. “Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on must be protected and meet the essential needs of the civilian population. The secretary-general calls upon all parties to refrain from using schools, from using shelters, or the areas around them for military purposes.”
The spokesman said all parties to the conflict must always comply with international humanitarian law.
“The secretary-general reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages being held in Gaza,” Dujarric said. “This horrific violence must stop.” ■