UNRWA lowers flags in global UN mourning for killed workers in Gaza

UN offices lowered their flags to half-mast today, including at UNRWA. Staff held a minute’s silence to mourn and honour the 101 colleagues from the Agency who have been killed in Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. The solemn ceremony was part of commemorations for the killed UNRWA colleagues by United Nations offices around the world. The UNRWA death toll, already the highest in UN history, continues to increase. These colleagues were among the 13,000 UNRWA staff working in Gaza, and many of them were killed with their families. They were teachers, school principals, health workers, including a gynecologist, engineers, support staff and a psychologist. ‘UNRWA staff in Gaza appreciate the UN lowering the flag around the world. In Gaza however, we have to keep the UN flag flying high as a sign that we are still standing and serving the people of Gaza,’ said Tom White, Director of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip from Rafah. UNRWA is hosting nearly 780,000 people in more than 150 facilities across the Gaza Strip. The
y came to these shelters to seek protection and safety under the very same UN flag. UN facilities, including those providing shelter, have not been spared during the war in Gaza. To date, more than 60 have been impacted, including 10 directly hit. At least 70 per cent of the facilities hit were in the middle and southern areas down from Wadi Gaza. Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA