TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – The Israeli Defense Forces claim to have discovered a Hamas tunnel beneath the headquarters of a United Nations aid agency in northern Gaza. According to the IDF, the tunnel was hiding weapons and was found during a military operation in the areas of Shati and Tel al-Hawa.
The IDF statement alleges that troops reached a tunnel shaft near a school operated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). However, they did not provide a specific date for when the tunnel was discovered.
UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, responded to the claim by stating that the organization was not informed by Israeli authorities about the alleged tunnel. He emphasized that UNRWA conducts inspections in its premises regularly and the last inspection in its Gaza headquarters was completed in September.
The discovery of the tunnel has reignited tensions between Israel and UNRWA, with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz calling for Lazzarini to resign. This latest development comes after Israel accused some UNRWA staff of being involved in Hamas’ attacks last year, leading to the firing of several employees by the agency.
The funding of UNRWA has also been affected by the allegations, as the United States and 13 other countries have pulled funding for the agency while investigations are ongoing. UN officials have raised concerns that defunding the organization could jeopardize its ability to provide essential aid in Gaza.
Hamas, the militant group in control of Gaza, has a sprawling network of underground tunnels throughout the enclave, which it claims stretches over 300 miles. The presence of these tunnels has been a point of contention between Hamas and Israel for years.
The alleged discovery of the Hamas tunnel beneath the UN headquarters adds another layer of complexity to the already fraught relations between Israel, UNRWA, and the situation in Gaza. The ongoing conflict and the consequences of the discovery will undoubtedly be closely watched by international observers.