A record number of aid workers were subjected to violent attacks in 2025, partly driven by the increased use of armed drones in conflict zones, the United Nations humanitarian office has said.
According to the Aid Worker Security Database, a platform that compiles major incidents affecting humanitarian workers, 907 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2025. Of those, 350 were killed, down slightly from a record 387 in 2024.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the level of violence as "appalling" and urged states to respect the rules of war and hold perpetrators accountable.
"Serving others has become more dangerous than ever," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the proliferation of cheap and adaptable armed drones in conflicts had increased the risks to humanitarian personnel.
In March, drone attacks struck Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least three people, including a French aid worker. Aid convoys in Sudan and Ukraine have also been repeatedly targeted.
Gaza was by far the deadliest location for aid workers in 2025, with 186 humanitarians killed there during the year, according to the database. Sudan ranked second.
Ramiz Alakbarov, the humanitarian coordinator of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, said in a post on X that "humanitarian workers are not a target and humanitarian assistance must be fully facilitated."
UNRWA's former chief Philippe Lazzarini said earlier this year that he was seeking a high-level panel to investigate staff deaths.
The surge in attacks is occurring as funding for humanitarian operations is increasingly being cut. The European Commission said in a statement that it would continue to meet its donor obligations, adding:
"Every aid worker killed is not only a personal tragedy; it is also a failure by the international community to uphold its most basic commitments."
Bushra Khalidi, global humanitarian policy lead at Oxfam, called for greater protections for aid workers, saying: "We're witnessing an assault on humanitarian action itself."
