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The United Nations (UN) has reported that 350 aid workers were killed worldwide in 2025, with Gaza and Sudan recording the highest numbers of fatalities.
Gaza remained the deadliest location for humanitarian workers for the third consecutive year, with 186 killed, while 71 aid workers were killed in Sudan.
The 2025 death toll was slightly lower than the 377 humanitarian workers killed globally in 2024.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) cited figures from research and advisory group Humanitarian Outcomes in a statement issued to mark World Humanitarian Day.
“More than 1,000 aid workers have been killed in just three years and that is utterly unacceptable,” Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said.
“But just calling it out will not protect the next aid worker. States must uphold international humanitarian law and use every tool to protect civilians and our colleagues,” he said. “And for those who break the rules, there must be real consequences.”
Since the beginning of 2026, another 82 aid workers have been killed worldwide, while 97 have been injured and 39 abducted, according to OCHA.
The agency also raised concerns over the growing use of armed drones, describing them as weapons “that are putting lethal power into ever more hands and sending more explosive weapons into towns and cities.”
In Sudan, armed drones accounted for 80% of civilian deaths during the first four months of 2026, striking markets and health facilities, according to the statement.
OCHA also noted casualties from drone attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Weaponised drones have become the new face of an old danger: the deliberate or reckless destruction of civilian life,” Fletcher said.
