U.N. to Pull International Workers From Gaza Amid Israeli Strikes

The United Nations announced on Monday that it would reduce its presence in Gaza by withdrawing about one-third of its international workers there, following repeated strikes of its facilities by Israel.

Secretary General António Guterres said in a statement that the decision to reduce the organization's footprint in Gaza was “difficult” at a time when humanitarian needs were soaring and as a resumption of Israeli attacks were killing hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children.

The drawdown announced Monday would be the first time since the start of the Israeli-Hamas war in 2023 that the United Nations has reduced its work force in Gaza, but it will retain a presence there.

“The U.N. is not leaving Gaza. The organization remains committed to continuing to provide aid that civilians depend on for their survival and protection,” Mr. Guterres said in the statement.

At least 280 U.N. staff members have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the organization’s largest loss of life in any conflict in its history, Mr. Guterres has said.

Stéphane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesman, said that about 30 percent of the organization’s 100 or so international staff members from different agencies would be leaving Gaza over the next week and that likely more would depart in the coming weeks.

Local Palestinian staff members would remain in Gaza to carry out humanitarian work.

On March 19, an Israeli tank shell hit a U.N. compound located in the Deir al Balah neighborhood of Gaza, Mr. Dujarric said. The attack killed a U.N. staff member from Bulgaria and injured six others.