UPDATE - UN human rights office in Geneva observes moment of silence to honor fallen colleagues in Gaza

ADDS COMMEMORATION IN UN GENEVA OFFICE

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN human rights office in Geneva observed a moment of silence on Monday in memory of their colleagues who lost their lives in Gaza due to Israeli attacks.

To honor the fallen colleagues, the UN offices also lowered the flag at the office building.

"Today, in solidarity with the UN family, we lower our to half-mast to observe a minute of silence - paying tribute to our UN colleagues who lost their lives on duty in Gaza," the office said on X.

"Let us honor and remember their selfless dedication to equality, freedom, and justice for all," it added.

A photo of the minute's silence, which included human rights chief Volker Turk along with other officials, was also released.

According to the latest information from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), as many as 101 UN workers have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7.

Another ceremony to honor fallen UN colleagues took place in front of the Human Rights Room at UN Geneva Office with the participation of UN officials and UN Geneva Director-General Tatiana Valovaya.

Stressing that the number of killed staff is "the highest number aid workers killed in the history of our organization in such a short time," Valovaya said during her speech: "We are gathered here today, united in this very symbolic location to pay respect to our brave colleagues who sacrificed their lives while serving under the United Nations flag."

"Thousands of our colleagues continue to work under the U.N. flag in [the] most risky parts of the world," she said. "Let's pay tribute to their activities, to their work, to their devotion."

Her speech followed by a minute of silence to mourn and honour colleagues killed in Gaza. The UN flag was lowered to half-mast in the Geneva office.

Similar tributes were paid by the UN workers and officials elsewhere.

Israel has been carrying out relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip -- including on hospitals, residences, and houses of worship -- since the Palestinian group Hamas launched a cross-border attack last month.

The attacks have killed over 11,000 Palestinians, including more than 8,000 women and children. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,200 after a downward revision.