Israel reports discovery of Hamas tunnel under UNRWA headquarters

The Israeli military says it has discovered a Hamas tunnel under the headquarters of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA. Large quantities of weapons and explosives were found in the building.

The Israeli military has made new serious allegations against the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in the Gaza Strip: A tunnel was discovered under its headquarters in Gaza, which the Islamist Hamas served as a data center for the militia’s military intelligence, a spokesman said on Saturday evening.

The Israeli military also announced that large quantities of weapons and explosives had been found in the building in the past two weeks. It was also said that there was evidence to suggest that premises at the UNRWA headquarters had been used by Hamas terrorists. 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 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. The aid organization’s staff left the headquarters on October 12th on orders from the Israeli military. The organization has not used it since then.

Katz calls for UNRWA chief to resign

Israel’s 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).

The UN aid agency has recently come under heavy criticism. There have been repeated accusations from Israel that it is working with the terrorist organization Hamas. Some employees were accused of involvement in the October 7 Hamas massacre 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 information. The collaboration with several employees has been terminated.