"Since the start of hostilities, at least 16 health workers have been killed while on duty, along with 35 UNRWA staff," OCHA said in an update sent Tuesday on the situation up to Monday evening. The UNRWA supports the 5.6 million Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The UNRWA paid tribute on X, formerly Twitter, "to our 35 colleagues who have been killed in Gaza". "We grieve and we remember. These are not just numbers. These are our friends and colleagues," it said, adding that many of those killed were teachers in UNRWA-run schools.

Humanitarian and aid workers have not been spared in more than two weeks of relentless israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip that has killed thousands of innocent civilians in the Palestinian territory.

More than 5,000 people have died during israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israel has been preparing a full-blown ground invasion into war-torn Gaza. (ILKHA)