A Bharatiya personnel working with the United Nations was killed in Gaza when the vehicle in which he was travelling came under attack in Rafah, making it the first international loss for the organisation since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The individual was a staff member of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS). However, the identity of the victim has not yet been disclosed. According to the media reports he was from Bharat and a former Indian Army personnel.
The Bharatiya personnel killed in Rafah is the first loss among international UN staff in Gaza since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict following the October 7 terror attacks. In the incident, another DSS staffer was injured when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply saddened to know about 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.
‘Guterres condemned all attacks on UN personnel and called for a full probe. Guterres sent his condolences to the family of the fallen staff member’, said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
The statement added, ‘With the conflict in Gaza continuing to take a heavy toll not only on civilians but also on humanitarian workers the Secretary-General reiterates his urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for the release of all hostages’.
In a post on X, Guterres said the UN vehicle was struck in Gaza, ‘killing one of our colleagues & injuring another’. He said that more than 190 UN staff have been killed in Gaza.
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