HAMILTON, Canada

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday announced a reduction of the UN presence in Gaza, citing escalating Israeli violence and increased threats to humanitarian personnel, including an attack on a UN compound last week that killed a UN worker.

"In the past week, Israel carried out devastating strikes on Gaza, claiming the lives of hundreds of civilians, including United Nations personnel, with no humanitarian aid being allowed to enter the Strip since early March," said a statement from his spokesperson's office.

Saying that Guterres "has taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar and our concern over the protection of civilians intensifies," the statement stressed however: "The UN is not leaving Gaza."

"The Organization remains committed to continuing to provide aid that civilians depend on for their survival and protection," it said.

The statement further noted that the Israeli government has blocked humanitarian aid into Gaza for over three weeks, calling it "the longest such suspension since 7 October 2023," when its deadly offensive began.

"Israeli officials have indicated that they intend to continue their military activities in Gaza. Based on the information currently available, the strikes hitting a UN compound in Deir Al Balah on 19 March were caused by an Israeli tank," it said.

Guterres strongly condemned last week's Israeli strike on a UN compound that led to the death of a UN staff member from Bulgaria and serious injuries to six others.

"The location of this UN compound was well known to the parties to the conflict," it noted.

Guterres demanded a "full, thorough and independent investigation" into the Israeli attack and emphasized that all parties are "bound by international law to protect the absolute inviolability of UN premises."

"All States must use all their leverage to stop the conflict and ensure respect for international law – by applying diplomatic and economic pressure and combating impunity," it added.

Reiterating his call for an immediate ceasefire, Guterres urged an end to the suffering in Gaza.

Impact of reducing UN footprint

Asked about number of staff members to be reduced, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a news conference that it is about one third this week and "maybe a bit more likely to come" in the upcoming days.

"It's a temporary measure. We hope to have people return to Gaza as soon as practicable," he said.

Noting that there are around 100 international staff in Gaza, he said it is "done for security reasons and for operational reasons."

On the impact of reducing the footprint of UN staff, Dujarric said the humanitarian aid is still not going in since Israeli attacks resumed, thus "the vast majority of the distribution is being done by local staff."

He also said the agencies that will experience cuts in staff include Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Food Program, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organization (WHO), UN Development Program (UNDP).