IIsrael has made serious new allegations against the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in the Gaza Strip. A tunnel was discovered under its headquarters in the city of Gaza, which served the Islamist Hamas as a data center for the militia's military intelligence, the Israeli military announced on Saturday evening. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini explained that the building had already been evacuated in the early stages of the war and that there was no knowledge of a tunnel underneath. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz rejected this as “absurd” and called for the UNRWA chief to be replaced. “His immediate resignation is essential,” Katz wrote on the platform X (formerly Twitter). Meanwhile, relatives of the Israeli hostages in Gaza want to sue the Hamas leaders at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Israel's military: Large quantities of weapons in UNRWA headquarters
The Israeli military also announced that large quantities of weapons and explosives had been found in the abandoned headquarters of the UN Palestinian Relief Agency in the past two weeks. In addition, evidence suggests that offices and premises at UNRWA headquarters were used by Hamas terrorists, it said. There was no information as to when exactly this use took place, whether before or after the start of the war. The information could not initially be independently verified.
UNRWA chief Lazzarini wrote on Whenever a suspicious cavity was found near or under the UNRWA site in the past, letters of protest were immediately sent to the parties to the conflict, Lazzarini wrote – including both Hamas and the Israeli authorities. It was said that Israeli authorities had not officially informed UNRWA about the alleged tunnel.
The UN aid agency has recently come under heavy criticism. There have been repeated accusations from Israel that it is working with Hamas. Specifically, some employees were accused of being involved in the unprecedented Hamas massacre on October 7th in southern Israel. Several Western countries temporarily suspended payments to UNRWA because of the allegations, including the two largest donors, the United States and Germany. UN Secretary General António Guterres promised comprehensive clarification. The collaboration with several employees has been terminated.
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