Israel says it has discovered a network of Hamas tunnels under the headquarters of the UN’s embattled Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza City – and that the secret system siphons electricity directly from the site.
Footage uploaded to X on Saturday shows a vast tunnel system under the Headquarters for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees that is nearly 60 feet deep and half a mile long, with one of the 10 entrances found near a school UNRWA, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Electrical equipment at the scene showed that the militants siphoned energy from aid organizations to power their terror infrastructure, the IDF said.
The IDF said it found similar power systems installed in a network of tunnels running under hospitals in Gaza and stealing electricity from buildings.
The Israeli military claims it discovered a network of Hamas tunnels under the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City. The Hamas IDF allegedly siphoned off power from the headquarters, which was abandoned on October 12, to mobilize its terror infrastructure. AFP via Getty Images
UNRWA is currently under investigation after it was revealed that at least 12 staff members participated in the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 that left more than 1,200 dead in Israel.
Israeli intelligence also claims that the majority of staff at UNRWA, the sole aid agency for most of Gaza’s nearly 2 million refugees, have relatives with ties to Palestinian terror groups.
IDF Lt. Col. Ido, whose last name has been redacted by the military, told reporters during a tour of the tunnels Thursday that it was clear the newly discovered network was powered by UNRWA.
The IDF located 10 entrances to the tunnel system, with one located near an UNRWA school. AFP via Getty Images
“This is the electrical room, you can see around here,” he said, pointing to a wire allegedly connecting the UNRWA headquarters to the tunnel. “The batteries, the electricity in the walls, everything is operated from here, all the energy for the tunnels you go through they are powered from here.”
The Israeli army also said it found various rifles, ammunition, grenades and explosives inside the headquarters as well.
Despite the claims, journalists on the trip said the Israeli military had not provided conclusive evidence that Hamas terrorists were actively operating under the UNRWA headquarters.
The tunnel measured nearly 60 feet deep and less than half a mile long. AFP via Getty Images UNRWA denied claims that Hamas used their facility before it was abandoned on Oct. 12. AP
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement that the aid agency had no knowledge of Hamas’ underground facilities but noted that the findings merited “an independent investigation.”
Lazzarini added that the headquarters were inspected in September and showed no signs of being harassed by Hamas.
“UNRWA is a human development and humanitarian organization that does not have the military and security expertise nor the ability to conduct military inspections of what is or may be under its premises,” Lazzarini wrote about X’s allegations.
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The UN official suggested that the alleged power line connection between the tunnel and the base and the weapons found were likely new because the agency had not revisited the headquarters since it was evacuated on October 12.
Lazzarini also noted that whenever Hamas tunnels or shafts were found near UNRWA premises in the past, both the terrorist group and Israel were notified, with the information publicly available.
Given the UN group’s transparency on the tunnel, Lazzarini blasted Israel for allegedly not informing UNRWA about the new tunnel, with the agency only learning about it through media reports.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
