UNRWA Gaza Tunnels: Israel Claims Hamas Link, Agency Denies Knowledge

Israel alleges Hamas used tunnels under UNRWA HQ in Gaza for electricity, leading to financial crisis for the agency. UNRWA denies knowledge of the tunnels.

The Israeli military has uncovered tunnels underneath the main headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City, alleging that Hamas militants used the space as an electrical supply room. This revelation marks the latest development in Israel's campaign against UNRWA, which it accuses of collaborating with Hamas.

UNRWA Headquarters Decimated

The UNRWA headquarters, located on the western edge of Gaza City, have been completely decimated. To locate the tunnel, Israeli forces employed a tactic used elsewhere in the strip, overturning mounds of red earth to create a crater-like hole leading to a small tunnel entrance. The unearthed shaft led to an underground passageway estimated to stretch for at least half a kilometer, with at least 10 doors.

Underground Room Served as Electrical Hub

Journalists were able to gaze upward from the tunnel, through a hole, and make eye contact with soldiers standing in a courtyard within the UNRWA facility. Inside one of the UNRWA buildings, they saw a room full of computers with wires stretching down into the ground. Soldiers then showed them a room in the underground tunnel where they claimed the wires connected.

The underground room contained a wall of electrical cabinets with multicolored buttons and was lined with dozens of cables. The military asserted that this room served as a hub powering the tunnel infrastructure in the area.

Hamas Acknowledges Building Tunnels

Hamas has acknowledged building hundreds of kilometers of tunnels across Gaza. One of the primary objectives of the Israeli offensive has been to destroy this network, which it says Hamas uses to move fighters, weapons, and supplies throughout the territory. Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields and has exposed numerous tunnels running near mosques, schools, and UN facilities.

UNRWA Unaware of Underground Facility

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that the agency had no knowledge of the facility's underground structure. He emphasized that UNRWA is a humanitarian organization without the military and security expertise or capacity to undertake military inspections of its premises.

Israeli Offensive in Gaza

The Israeli military's discovery of tunnels under the UNRWA facility comes amid its four-month-long campaign in Gaza. The offensive was launched after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and capturing 250 hostages. Since then, Israeli warplanes and ground troops have killed over 27,000 Palestinians in the strip, causing a humanitarian crisis and widespread damage.

The Israeli military's allegations against UNRWA have plunged the agency into a financial crisis, with major donor states suspending their funding and twin investigations underway. The agency maintains that it has no knowledge of the underground facility and is unable to conduct an independent inquiry due to the ongoing conflict.