Record number of aid workers killed in 2023, this year may be worse: UN

A record number of aid workers were killed in conflicts around the world last year more than half after the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7 -- and this year may become even deadlier, the United Nations said on Monday.

The 280 aid workers from 33 countries killed in 2023 was more than double the previous year's figure of 118, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs known as OCHA said in a report on World Humanitarian Day.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted that honouring the humanitarians killed in the deadliest year on record is not enough.

In Sudan and many other places, aid workers are attacked, killed, injured and abducted. We demand an end to impunity so that perpetrators face justice, the UN chief said.

OCHA said this year may be on track for an even deadlier outcome, with 172 aid workers killed as of August 7, according to a provisional account from the Aid Worker Security Database.

More than 280 aid workers have been killed in the war i