IFRC staff hold pictures of their colleagues killed while performing humanitarian duties in 2024
IFRC staff hold pictures of their colleagues killed while performing humanitarian duties in 2024 AFP

Dozens of Red Cross staff and volunteers gathered Wednesday for a candlelight vigil for more than 30 of their colleagues killed in 2024, during the deadliest year on record for humanitarians.

More than 100 people crowded outside the headquarters of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva, most donning red vests and carrying candles.

The tribute came as a Palestine Red Crescent volunteer was killed Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, which "brings the total number of IFRC network members killed worldwide this year to 32", the group said in a statement.

"Alaa Al-Derawi, a member of PRCS's emergency medical team, was fatally shot in the Khan Younis area of Gaza, shortly after transporting patients for treatment. He was returning to base when the incident occurred," it said.

In Geneva, standing in the stinging cold in front of a banner emblazoned with the words "Protect Humanity", some held up pictures of the staff and volunteers killed this year while performing their humanitarian duties.

"We are shocked. We are appalled," Nena Stoiljkovic, the IFRC's Under Secretary-General for Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalisation, told the gathering.

"We are not a target," added IFRC official Frank Mohrhauer.

Following a minute of silence, an IFRC staff member solemnly read out the names of those killed.

They were among a record number of aid workers who have perished around the world this year.

Already last month, the United Nations said the record number of 280 humanitarians killed in 2023 had been surpassed, and the number has kept climbing.

Israel's devastating war in Gaza has especially been driving up the numbers, but aid workers were also subject to violence and killings in a range of countries including Sudan and Ukraine.

"2024 is now the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, especially for local staff and volunteers worldwide," Stoiljkovic said.

"This grim milestone has not spared the IFRC network," she said, pointing to more "heartbreaking news" just last week when another Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer was killed, and eight others injured in an attack.

"They were rescuing people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance," she said.

Stoiljkovic told AFP that the event, which came before International Volunteers' Day on Thursday, provided "a moment to reflect" on the towering losses with "sadness and compassion".

The vigil took place outside the IFRC's headquarters in Geneva
The vigil took place outside the IFRC's headquarters in Geneva AFP