Israel claims Hamas tunnel found under UN refugee agency Gaza headquarters

UNRWA said in response that it had not operated from the base for nearly 4 months and called for an independent investigation

The agency is already under scrutiny after it sacked a number of staff last month following Israeli allegations that they took part in the October 7 attacks

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Lieutenant Colonel Ido, whose last name was redacted by the Israeli military, walks inside a tunnel underneath the UNRWA compound in Gaza on Thursday. Photo: AP

Published: 3:30am, 11 Feb 2024

The Israeli military claimed on Saturday that they had discovered a Hamas tunnel under the Gaza City headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

UNRWA said in response that it had not operated from the base since October 12 – five days after Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel – and called for an independent investigation.

Hamas has previously denied Israeli claims that it has dug an extensive network of tunnels under schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure as cover for its activities.

UNRWA is already under scrutiny after it sacked a number of staff last month following Israeli allegations that they took part in the deadly October 7 attacks by Hamas.

Israeli soldiers guard a crater-like hole giving way to a small tunnel entrance in the UNRWA compound in Gaza on Thursday. Photo: AP

The army and the Shin Bet security agency said operations in Gaza City in recent weeks had led to the discovery of a “tunnel shaft” near a school operated by the humanitarian agency.

“The shaft led to an underground terror tunnel that served as a significant asset of Hamas’s military intelligence and passed under the building that serves as UNRWA’s main headquarters in the Gaza Strip,” they added in a statement.