Attacks on humanitarian workers

Attacks on humanitarian workers are a leading cause of death among aid workers. Under international humanitarian law, deliberate violence is prohibited against protected persons, including humanitarian aid workers belonging to United Nations agencies, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Attacks have become increasingly more frequent since 1997 when the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) began tracking them. This article contains a list of major attacks on humanitarian workers, primarily drawn from the AWSD. A full downloadable list, from 1997–present, can be found on their website.

The number of aid workers attacked has increased from 260 in 2008 to 595 in 2023. For the first 20 years of the AWSD, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, and Syria were consistently the most dangerous places for aid workers to operate. Between 2013 and 2018, an average of 127 aid workers were killed, 120 injured, and 104 abducted worldwide per year. In November 2024, the UN reported that 281 aid workers had been killed that year, making 2024 the deadliest year on record; 175 of the deaths occurred in Gaza. Additionally the UN stated that 333 aid workers had been killed thus far in the Gaza war, the highest number recorded in a single crisis.

The most common causes of death among aid workers are shootings and air strikes, with road travel being particularly dangerous. A large contributor to violence against aid workers is kidnapping, though most end in release after negotiations. Motives for attacks on aid workers are often unknown, but of those that are known the cause is frequently political.