UN says over 50 Gaza aid workers faced abuse in Israeli detention
The Hindu
UNRWA staff in Gaza abused, used as human shields by Israeli military, sparking international outrage and calls for justice.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, on Tuesday (April 29, 2025) said more than 50 of its staff in Gaza were abused and used as human shields while in Israeli military detention.
"Since the start of the war in October 2023, over 50 UNRWA staff, among them teachers, doctors, social workers, have been detained and abused," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.
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"They have been treated in the most shocking & inhumane way. They reported being beaten + used as human shields."
Mr. Lazzarini cited the testimony of one of the staff members who had been detained by the Israeli military before being released.
"I wished for death to end this nightmare I was living through," the staff member was quoted as saying. "Received this awful testimony from a colleague who was rounded up in Gaza, tortured while in Israeli detention and finally released," they added
Mr. Lazzarini said those detained had been subjected to "sleep deprivation, humiliation, threats of harm to them & their families + attacks by dogs".
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