The World Health Organization (WHO), has confirmed that one of its employees had been killed in Gaza alongside her six-month-old baby, husband and two brothers.
A statement posted on the website of the organisation on Tuesday, November 22, 2023, named the deceased as Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj who had been with WHO since December 2019.
She worked as a patient administrator at the Limb Reconstruction Centre, a critical part of the WHO Trauma and Emergency Team.
“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,” the statement said.
“She worked as a patient administrator at the Limb Reconstruction Centre, a critical part of the WHO Trauma and Emergency Team.
“Dima died today when her parents’ house in southern Gaza where she had evacuated to from Gaza City, was bombed. She was tragically killed alongside her husband, their six-month old baby boy, and her two brothers. Reportedly, over 50 family and community members sheltering in the same house also died.
“Dima had a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Earth Sciences from the Islamic University of Gaza, and continued to study and work on environmental issues and health. She was a master’s student at Glasgow University, Scotland, UK, as part of the Erasmus exchange program from 2018-2019.
“On Women’s Day 2022, Dima said in a WHO social media post that she was proud of her work because “it contributes to giving people hope and a new lease on life.”
Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory said “she was a wonderful person with a radiant smile, cheerful, positive, respectful. She was a true team player. Her work was crucial, and she had been requested to take on even more responsibilities to support the Gaza suboffice and team. This is a such a painful loss for all of us. We share our deepest condolences with her mother and father (a long-serving medical specialist in Gaza), her family, and her many friends.”
WHO Chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also announced the death of the staff in a post on social media platform X.
“My colleagues and I are devastated: we have lost one of our own in Gaza today,” Ghebreyesus wrote.
“Reportedly multiple other family members sheltering in the same house were also killed,” he added.
