Dima Alhaj, Another WHO Worker Dies In Israeli Bombing; UN Lost 108 Employees So Far
Another World Health Organisation (WHO) worker was killed in Israeli bombing, marking the number of workers of UN Agency 108. Dima Alhaj, an employee of World Health Organization was killed along with her six-month-old baby, her husband and her two brothers. Reports suggest that “over 50 family and community members sheltering in the same house also died.
Taking to X (formerly twitter), WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X (formerly twitter) “I have no words to describe the grief”. In his post he revealed, “this loss comes on top of other losses in the UN family since 7 October: 108 UNRWA colleagues have been killed”.
My colleagues and I are devastated: we have lost one of our own in #Gaza today.
Our young @WHOoPt colleague Dima Alhaj was tragically killed alongside her 6 month old baby, her husband and 2 brothers. Reportedly multiple other family members sheltering in the same house were… pic.twitter.com/vURpNFRXe6
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 21, 2023
Dima Alhaj was a “patient administrator at the Limb Reconstruction Centre, a critical part of the WHO Trauma and Emergency Team”, said WHO in occupied Palestinian Territory in X. she had been working with WHO since December 2019.
WHO staff member killed in Gaza
With heavy hearts, @WHO announces the death of one of our staff in Gaza, in the occupied Palestinian territory. Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29 years old, had been with WHO since December 2019. She worked as a patient administrator at the Limb… pic.twitter.com/ftbWfOuoUX
— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) November 21, 2023
The 29-year-old WHO staff was killed in her parents’ house in south Gaza, to where she evacuated from Gaza city after the warning issued by the Israeli occupation force.
Apart from Dima Alhaj, three doctors of Medicines Sans Frontieres lost three doctors in north Gaza’s Al-Awda hospital. The doctors who lost their lives in the Israeli bombing were, Dr Mahamoud Abu Nujaila, Dr Ahmed Al Sahar and Dr Ziad Al-Tatari.
Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila.
Dr Ahmad Al Sahar.
Dr Ziad Al-Tatari.We are devastated by the killing of these three doctors – including our Dr Abu Nujaila and Dr Al Sahar – following a strike on Al-Awda hospital in #Gaza today.https://t.co/TXyZNl5X78
— MSF International (@MSF) November 21, 2023
Al Awda hospital is among few function hospitals in Gaza. Dr Abu Nujaila and Dr Al Sahar was killed when the Israeli bombing hit the theirs and fourth floor of the hospital. The hospital has been subjected to the air strike for a few times before.
The MSF said there are about 200 patients in the hospital that needed to be evacuated to another hospital for proper treatment.
The announcement of deaths of the health workers came hours after David Satterfield from Biden Administration spoke about the “functional deconflict mechanism”, the Biden Administration has advised to the Netanyahu force. He said that, “we realize and we impressed upon Israel that more had to done. There needed to be a single coordinated, functional deconfliction mechanism”, as quoted by The Times Of Israel.
