In memory of the 101 U.N. staff members killed so far in Gaza, flags at United Nations offices around the world were flying at half-mast Monday.
Staff held a minute's silence to mourn for and honor the colleagues from United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who have been killed in the war.
"The UNRWA death toll, already the highest in UN history, continues to increase," the statement said.
The dead were among the 13,000 UNRWA staff working in Gaza, and many of them were killed with their families. They were teachers, school principals, health workers, including a gynecologist, engineers, support staff and a psychologist, the agency said.
"UNRWA staff in Gaza appreciate the U.N. lowering the flags around the world. In Gaza, however, we have to keep the U.N. flag flying high as a sign that we are still standing and serving the people of Gaza," Tom White, director of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, said from Rafah.
U.N. agencies in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and elsewhere posted photos on social media of flags at half-mast in front of and on their office buildings.
