At least 350 humanitarian workers lost their lives globally last year, marking another distressing year for violence against aid workers, according to the United Nations. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that the death toll in 2025 slightly decreased from the previous year, which recorded the deadliest year on record with 387 aid workers killed worldwide.
Apart from the fatalities, 322 humanitarian workers sustained injuries in attacks in 2025, while 235 were abducted, as reported by the Aid Worker Security Database. UN Secretary General António Guterres emphasized in a video message on World Humanitarian Day that the act of serving others has become increasingly perilous.
The Gaza Strip retained its position as the most dangerous area for aid workers for the third consecutive year, with 186 casualties last year during Israel’s conflict in the Palestinian enclave, according to OCHA. Additionally, 71 aid workers lost their lives in Sudan in 2025 due to an ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since 2023.
Expressing concern, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, stated in a news release that over 1,000 aid workers have been killed in the past three years, highlighting the urgent need for action. OCHA reported that 82 aid workers have been killed, 97 injured, and 39 kidnapped so far this year.
The UN also raised an alert regarding the utilization of “inexpensive and versatile armed drones” in conflict regions. Drones have been employed to target markets and medical facilities in Sudan, resulting in 80% of civilian fatalities in the initial four months of 2026. Furthermore, at least 80 civilians were killed in drone strikes in Ukraine in April of this year. Fletcher remarked that weaponized drones represent a modern threat to civilian life through deliberate or reckless actions that lead to destruction.
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