LONDON: All expect two of the 152 UN workers slain in Gaza were “off-duty” at the time of their deaths, said a data seen by the western media.
The data reveals the extent of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after October 7, and the reality for staff from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees on the ground.
More UN aid workers have been killed in Gaza than in any other conflict in the history of the organization, prompting allegations that Israel is deliberately targeting its staff members.
The Telegraph on Sunday reported that almost half of all UNRWA staff casualties took place in the three weeks after October 7.
The deadliest day of the conflict far for the UN staff was October 25, when 15 staff members were killed by the Israeli airstrikes.
However, after the land invasion started two days later, the data reveals that deaths of UNRWA workers dropped dramatically, while the death rate of the general civilian population remained constant.
Dr. Michael Dunne-Willows, an ambassador for the Royal Statistical Society, assessing The Telegraph’s analysis said the downward trend in UN worker deaths after the invasion is significant.
Maj. Gen. Charlie Herbert, a former British army officer and warfare expert, told the newspaper the apparently high proportion of UNRWA staff killed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the first months of the conflict requires further investigation.
Every, Gaza resident, including UNRWA staff, is assigned an ID number that is saved in a database accessible to both Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
An UNRWA official told media that Israel knows where everyone lives in Gaza and what are their names.
