Indian staff member with the UN killed in Gaza

An Indian personnel working with the United Nations was killed in Gaza when the vehicle he was travelling in came under attack in Rafah making it the first international casualty for the organisation since the start of the IsraelHamas conflictThe individual was a staff member of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security DSS While the identity of the victim has not yet been revealed sources confirmed to PTI he was from India and a former Indian Army personnelThe Indian personnel killed in Rafah is the first casualty among international UN staff in Gaza since the beginning of the IsraelHamas conflict following the October 7 terror attacks Another DSS staffer was injured in the incident when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in RafahUN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres was deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security DSS staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah Monday morningA statement issued by Farhan Haq Deputy Spokesman for the SecretaryGeneral said that Guterres condemned all attacks on UN personnel and called for a full investigation Guterres sent his condolences to the family of the fallen staff memberWith the conflict in Gaza continuing to take a heavy toll not only on civilians but also on humanitarian workers the SecretaryGeneral reiterates his urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for the release of all hostages the statement addedIn a post on X Guterres said the UN vehicle was struck in Gaza killing one of our colleagues amp injuring another He said that more than 190 UN staff have been killed in GazaHumanitarian workers must be protected I condemn all attacks on UN personnel and reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire amp the release of all hostages he saidResponding to questions on the incident during the press briefing Haq said at this point We are in the process of informing the relevant governments and the relevant family members so I wouldnt share any names or nationalitiesHe added that they were international staff Haq confirmed that this is in fact the first international UN casualtyWhile there have been international casualties involving workers for the World Central Kitchen in Gaza Haq said that of UN staff I believe Ive not been previously aware of an international casualtyHaq added that the vehicle was headed to the hospital as part of their regular work they go to different locations to assess security conditions And this was the European hospital in RafahWhen asked for details about how their vehicle was struck Haq said This happened fairly recently Were still accumulating details We expect to get reports including from the relevant authoritiesHe added that close to around 190 UN personnel have been killed in Gaza since October 7 most of them national staff of the UN Relief and Works Agency UNRWAHaq added that the UN is going to set up measures for accountability A lot of that requires ultimately for an end to the conflict so that we can work these out but we will be working with the authorities on the ground to get a restitution for all of those who have been killedHaq said he did not have the full details of whether the vehicle that was struck was part of a large convoy I believe it was in a convoy that was moving and this was the DSS vehicle that was hitDirectorGeneral of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X We are devastated to learn about the death of a UN humanitarian worker and injury of another in GazaToo many civilian and humanitarian lives have paid the price for this war Ceasefire and work towards peace the WHO chief saidIn April seven members of the World Central Kitchen were killed in an IDF strike in Gaza One of those killed in the airstrike was Zomi Frankcom who was of Indian descent according to reportsThe UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA said that between October 7 2023 and May 12 2024 at least 35091 Palestinians have been killed and 78827 injured in GazaMore than 1200 Israelis and foreign nationals including 33 children have been killed in Israel the vast majority on October 7 when Hamas attacked IsraelThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever