UN staff refuse to flee Gaza as famine spreads and Israel blocks vital aid, Oireachtas committee hears

Smoke rises from an Israeli military strike in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Robot tanks are advancing on Gaza City, destroying homes in their path, but UN staff have chosen to remain and risk death alongside neighbours rather than flee again.

Because nowhere in Gaza is safe, John Whyte, acting senior deputy director in Gaza with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade today.