The United Nations is removing a third of all international staff in the Gaza Strip. According to spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci, this is for the safety of the employees.
“We are doing this because Secretary-General António Guterres is unable to guarantee the safety of UN staff,” Vellucci said. This means that thirty of the one hundred international employees are being removed from Gaza.
For example, they work for the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the UNICEF children’s rights organisation. It is unclear how the UN intends to guarantee the safety of the remaining employees.
Last week, the accommodation of the UN Office for Project Support Services (UNOPS) in the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli airstrike. Five people were injured, and a Bulgarian worker was killed. Guterres said he was “shocked” by the incident.
The UN is also active in Gaza with the aid agency UNRWA. Most of those workers are Palestinian.
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