Gaza conflict: 30 aid workers killed in a month, says UN

United Nations: As many as 30 aid workers were killed and 74 others injured in the month-long conflict in Gaza, the UN said on Wednesday.

“The 30 aid workers included 11 staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), 11 medical staff and eight firefighters,” Xinhua quoted UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric as saying.

Out of the injured aid workers, 38 were medical staff and 34 were civil defence workers, Dujarric said.

According to the latest report by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there are still 370,000 internally displaced people who either remain in emergency shelters or are with host families in Gaza.

“These numbers are expected to rise as the ceasefire deadline nears,” the agency warned, noting that the latest ceasefire is scheduled to expire Wednesday midnight.

The report also said that six people, including an Italian journalist, were killed Wednesday and six others injured by shelling in Beit Lahia in Gaza.

Israel launched the Operation Protective Edge July 8, which has so far claimed the lives of at least 1,938 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. In Israel, 64 soldiers and three civilians were killed, according to Israeli military and police.

Negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are still ongoing in Cairo for a durable ceasefire.

IANS