U.N. to cut staff numbers in Gaza as Israeli strikes escalate

The United Nations said on Monday it is reducing its international staff numbers in Gaza by about a third after Israeli strikes in the enclave that have killed hundreds of civilians, including United Nations personnel.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a regular news briefing the move was taken for security and operational reasons and would involve the withdrawal of about 30 of the 100 or so international staff currently in Gaza.

“What we’re doing is reducing the number of international staff members by about one third this week, maybe a bit more likely to come. It’s a temporary measure. We hope to have people return to Gaza as soon as practicable,” he said.

He stressed that the U.N. was not leaving Gaza.

“The Secretary-General has taken the difficult decision … even as humanitarian needs soar and our concern over the protection of civilians intensifies,” he said. “The organization remains committed to continuing to provide aid that civilians depend on for their survival and protection.”

Dujarric said that based on information currently available, strikes that hit a UN compound in Deir Al Balah on March 19, killing a Bulgarian U.N. worker and leaving six others — from France, Moldova, North Macedonia, the Palestine territories and the United Kingdom — with severe injuries, came from an Israeli tank.

“The location of this U.N. compound was well known to the parties to the conflict,” he said, noting that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres had demanded “a full, thorough and independent investigation.”

Gaza’s health ministry attributed the strike to Israel, but Israel denied this, saying it hit a Hamas site where it detected preparations for firing into Israeli territory.

Asked if the U.N. believed the compound had been deliberated targeted, Dujarric said: “I think that’s one of the reasons we need to have a pretty clear and transparent investigation. The point is that the Israelis knew exactly where this UN facility was, and it was hit by a shell from one of their tanks.”

The Israeli military said its forces had fired on Monday at a building belonging to the Red Cross in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah as a result of incorrect identification, after an office belonging to the aid organization was damaged by an explosive projectile.