UN says record attacks on aid workers in 2025 left Gaza the deadliest place for humanitarians

The United Nations says aid workers faced a record number of violent attacks in 2025, with Gaza remaining the deadliest place for humanitarian staff for a third consecutive year. The UN humanitarian office said 907 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped during the year, underscoring the scale of risk facing people delivering relief in conflict zones. The report also said 350 aid workers were killed in 2025, slightly below the record 387 deaths recorded in 2024.

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The figures were drawn from the Aid Worker Security Database, which tracks major incidents affecting humanitarian personnel. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the level of violence as appalling and called on states to respect the rules of war and hold perpetrators accountable. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the spread of cheap and adaptable armed drones in conflicts had increased the danger to aid workers.

Gaza accounted for 186 aid-worker deaths in 2025, making it by far the deadliest location in the database. Sudan followed, while aid convoys in Ukraine were also repeatedly hit, according to the report. In March, drone attacks in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo killed at least three people, including a French aid worker, highlighting the wider reach of the threat.

The report comes as humanitarian operations face growing pressure from both insecurity and funding cuts. That combination has raised concern among aid agencies that access to civilians in conflict areas is becoming harder to maintain. The European Commission said it would continue its donor obligations, while Oxfam said the trend amounted to an assault on humanitarian action itself.

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The findings add to a broader debate over the protection of humanitarian workers in war zones and the enforcement of international law. Ramiz Alakbarov, the humanitarian coordinator of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, said humanitarian workers are not a target and aid must be fully facilitated. Philippe Lazzarini, the agency's former chief, had earlier called for a high-level panel to investigate staff deaths.

What remains unclear is how many of the attacks were linked to specific armed groups or state forces, and whether the rise in drone use will lead to new protection measures. The report does not resolve the question of accountability in individual cases, but it does point to a worsening security environment for aid operations across several conflicts. The next developments to watch are any follow-up investigations, changes in donor support, and whether states act on the UN's call to strengthen protections for humanitarian staff.

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