The United Nations said Monday it would “reduce its footprint” in Gaza after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staff member from Bulgaria and wounding five other employees.
UN Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the world body would temporarily remove about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers working in Gaza.
He pointed to the increased danger after Israel relaunched its military campaign last week with bombardment that has since killed hundreds of Palestinians.
Israel has also cut off all food, medicine, aid and other supplies to Gaza's population for the past three weeks.
Dujarric's statement was the UN's first to point the finger at Israel in the March 19 explosion at the UN guesthouse in central Gaza.
He said that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the site “were caused by an Israeli tank.”
The Israeli military repeated its denial that it was responsible for the strike, which took place a day after Israel shattered Gaza's two-month-old ceasefire with a surprise bombardment.
Dujarric said the UN had "taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar.”
He said the UN was “not leaving Gaza,” pointing out that it still had about 13,000 national staff in Gaza, mainly working for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. (AP)
UN cuts headcount in Gaza after worker dies
2025-03-25 HKT 09:49
