The news that Israeli drone strikes hit and killed seven humanitarian workers traveling in a clearly marked aid convoy in the Gaza Strip elicited shock and international condemnation. US President Joe Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken by the deaths.”

But the tragic news was not an isolated incident. More than 180 aid workers, most of them Palestinians, have died in Gaza since October 2023. And beyond Gaza, attacks on aid workers have been on the rise globally in various war zones and other places in crisis, from Syria to Haiti.

Elizabeth Stites points out that the reaction to the recent deaths raises the questoin of what type of aid worker the world cares about, and why. Most workers harmed in conflicts are local people − not foreigners as was the case in Gaza.

This weekend Rwanda will mark 30 years since the start of a genocide that resulted in the massacre of an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and non-extremist Hutus in just over three months. The country’s post-genocide reconstruction efforts have been aimed at fostering unity. While younger generations largely accept the vision of a unified Rwandan identity, concerns persist among older generations and policymakers about the potential for renewed ethnic tensions. This is particularly in the light of escalating violence in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Jonathan Beloff examines the threat posed by armed groups in the region.