The United Nations said 383 aid workers were killed worldwide in 2024, the highest annual toll since record-keeping began in 1997 and a 31 percent jump from the previous year. The figures were released on 19 August, World Humanitarian Day, and described by UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher as a “shameful indictment” of global inaction toward the safety of relief personnel. Nearly half of last year’s fatalities—181—occurred in the Gaza Strip during the war between Israel and Hamas, while another 60 deaths were recorded in Sudan. Smaller but notable numbers were registered in Lebanon, Ethiopia, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Ukraine. Most victims were national staff members attacked either on duty or in their homes, and state actors were the most frequent perpetrators, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Beyond those killed, 308 aid workers were wounded, 125 kidnapped and 45 detained amid 599 major security incidents, a sharp rise from 420 the year before. The provisional toll for 2025 already stands at 265 deaths—173 of them in Gaza—highlighting what Fletcher called an urgent need for parties to conflict to respect international humanitarian law and for governments to hold offenders accountable.