‘DEEPLY SADDENED’

First International UN Staff Worker Killed in Gaza Airstrike

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate investigation into the strike.

The UN confirmed its first international staff member was killed in Gaza on Monday, when the vehicle the worker was traveling in was suddenly struck as it drove along a road near Rafah. The worker, whose name and nationality have not been released, is the first non-Palestinian UN staffer to die in the conflict; about 190 Palestinian UN workers have also been killed since October, and in April, seven aid workers of different nationalities with the non-profit World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike. A spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN chief was “deeply saddened” to learn of the death of this worker, who was an employee of the UN’s Department of Safety and Security. “The Secretary-General condemns all attacks on UN personnel and calls for a full investigation,” spokesman Farhan Haq said, reiterating Guterres’ urgent call for a ceasefire. The UN did not give further details on who was behind the attack.