Head Of IFRC Concerned About Death Of Local Humanitarian Aid Workers In Conflict Areas

PRCS and WHO ambulance convoys in Gaza. (Twitter/@PalestinineRCS)

JAKARTA - The killing of local humanitarian workers in worldwide conflict should spark the same anger as international aid workers injured in the conflict, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Associations (IFRC) said on Tuesday.

The number of aid workers killed has increased this year, mostly due to the Israeli war with Hamas in Gaza. Nearly 300 humanitarian aid workers, more than two-thirds of whom are UN staff, have been killed since the conflict broke out on October 7, 2023.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said 30 staff and volunteers from the Red Cross and the local Red Crescent were killed while on duty while wearing the organization's emblem since January this year.

Seventeen of them were killed in Palestinian territory and eight in Sudan, he said, calling on countries and international agencies to do more to protect them.

"They came from the community they worked for, but unfortunately, they were the ones who were most injured and killed but the incidents got less attention," he said.

"When they were killed on a mission, when they were fully identified, and there were no types of protests needed to replace the syringe, I felt helpless," he explained.

Chapagain cited media report analysis showing coverage of attacks on humanitarian workers was largely an incident involving international staff.

He referred to the killing of seven US-based charity World Central Kitchen workers in April in Israeli airstrikes, prompting global outrage and causing Washington to insist Israel to better protect aid workers.

"I believe the anger helps bring this matter to the negotiating table, but what happens later is that anger is dropping drastically," he said, adding continued attention was needed to change the situation.