Israel has discovered a network of Hamas tunnels beneath the headquarters of the conflict-ridden United Nations Office for Palestinian Refugees in Gaza City, and said a secret system was siphoning electricity directly from the site.
Footage uploaded to One of the 10 entrances was reportedly found near a UNRWA school. to the Israel Defense Forces.
Electrical equipment at the scene suggests the insurgents siphoned energy from relief organizations to power terrorist infrastructure, the IDF said.
The IDF announced that it had discovered a similar power system installed in a network of tunnels that runs under hospitals in Gaza, stealing electricity from buildings.
UNRWA is currently investigating after it was revealed that at least 12 of its personnel took part in the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 that left more than 1,200 people dead in Israel.
Israeli intelligence also claims that the majority of staff at UNRWA, the sole relief agency for most of Gaza’s nearly 2 million refugees, have relatives with ties to Palestinian terrorist organizations.
IDF Lieutenant Colonel Ido, whose last name was redacted by the military, told reporters during a tunnel tour on Thursday that it was clear the newly discovered network was powered by UNRWA.
“This is the electrical room. You can see all around here,” he said, pointing to the electrical wires that supposedly connected the tunnel to UNRWA’s headquarters. “The batteries, the wall electricity, everything is routed from here, and this is where all the energy to go through the tunnel comes from.”
The Israeli military also said it had found various rifles, ammunition, grenades and explosives inside its headquarters.
Despite these claims, journalists on the tour said the Israeli military had not provided conclusive evidence that Hamas terrorists were active beneath UNRWA headquarters.
UNRWA Secretary-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement that while the relief agency had no knowledge of Hamas’ underground facilities, the discovery merited an “independent investigation.”
Lazzarini added that the headquarters had been inspected in September and there were no signs of tampering by Hamas.
“UNRWA is a human development and humanitarian organization and does not have military and security expertise or the ability to conduct military inspections of what is or may be on its premises,” Lazzarini said. wrote about suspicions regarding X.
U.N. officials have not revisited the headquarters since the U.N. was evacuated on Oct. 12, so the suspected power line connection between the tunnel and the base and the weapons found could be new. suggested that it was high.
Lazzarini also pointed out that in the past, whenever Hamas tunnels or shafts were discovered near UNRWA sites, both the terrorist organization and Israel were notified, and the information was made available to the public.
Given the UN group’s transparency regarding the tunnel, Lazzarini accused Israel of not informing UNRWA about the new tunnel, which the agency only learned about through media reports.
with post wire
