UNWRA refutes Israeli implications of Hamas tunnel below Gaza HQ | Israel War on Gaza News

The chief of the UN’s assist company in Gaza has mentioned that it had no information of what was beneath its deserted headquarters amid Israeli claims {that a} Hamas tunnel ran under the Gaza Metropolis web site.

Philippe Lazzarini of the United Nations Aid and Works Company for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) mentioned on X late on Saturday that the company “didn’t know what’s underneath its headquarters in Gaza”. Israel has beforehand accused UNWRA of colluding with Hamas’s navy operations, prompting a number of donors to withdraw funding.

The UNWRA chief’s feedback got here after the Israeli military invited journalists to go to the tunnel. The Israeli navy didn’t present definitive proof that Hamas fighters operated on the location, however confirmed that at the very least a portion of the tunnel system ran beneath the courtyard of the help company’s headquarters.

The ‘metro’

Inside one of many buildings journalists noticed a room filled with computer systems with wires stretching down into the bottom. Troopers then confirmed them a room in an underground tunnel advanced the place they claimed the wires related.

That underground room bore a wall {of electrical} cupboards with multicoloured buttons and was lined with dozens of cables. The navy claimed the room served as a hub powering tunnel infrastructure within the space.

Israel has repeatedly mentioned that one of many major goals of its warfare in Gaza is to destroy the underground community that it says is utilized by Hamas to maneuver its fighters, weapons and provides.

Whereas few know the complete extent of what some Israeli officials call the “metro”, the tunnels are believed to cross your entire enclave for lots of of kilometres. Consultants estimate a depth of 15 to 60 metres (50 to 200 toes).

‘Terror’

Israel’s claims over the tunnel seem a part of a sample meant to implicate UNWRA in Hamas’s navy operations.

The primary humanitarian company in Gaza, UNWRA, has been dealing with an unprecedented funding disaster after its major worldwide donors led by the US reduce its funding over “terror” allegations.

Lazzarini insisted that UNWRA had no information if something was under the headquarters, which it vacated shortly after Israel launched its bombardment of the Gaza Strip in early October.

“UNRWA is made conscious of studies by the media concerning a tunnel underneath the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza,” mentioned on X.

He added that whereas the studies advantage an unbiased inquiry, “that’s presently not potential to undertake given Gaza is an energetic warfare zone”.

– UNRWA didn’t know what’s underneath its headquarters in Gaza.

– UNRWA is made conscious of studies by the media concerning a tunnel underneath the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza.

– UNRWA employees left its headquarters in Gaza Metropolis on 12 October following the Israeli evacuation orders and as…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) February 10, 2024

Lazzarini mentioned that UNRWA employees left the headquarters on October 12, following an Israeli evacuation order, and that they weren’t conscious of any exercise that will have taken place there since.

In occasions of no energetic battle, he added, the company inspects its premises each quarter.

“UNRWA is a human improvement and humanitarian organisation that doesn’t have the navy and safety experience nor the capability to undertake navy inspections of what’s or is perhaps underneath its premises,” he mentioned.

Prior to now, Lazzarini added, “protest letters” had been filed to Hamas officers and Israeli authorities “each time suspicious cavity was discovered near or underneath UNRWA premises” and that the matter was “constantly reported” to the UN Basic Meeting.

The UN company, the one lifeline to the greater than two million folks in Gaza, has come underneath intense scrutiny after Israel alleged that 11 of its staff took half in Hamas’s lethal assault into southern Israel on October 7.

Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented assault killing greater than 1,100 folks and took about 240 captives. Israel has responded with a ferocious bombing marketing campaign killing greater than 28,000 folks and displacing practically 85 % of the inhabitants.

Regardless of UNRWA terminating the contracts of these accused by Israel of becoming a member of the assault and launching an investigation, main donors suspended their funding, plunging the company right into a monetary disaster. [Perhaps it’s worth mentioning what we reported in this update]

The company mentioned that Israel has additionally frozen its checking account, embargoed assist shipments and cancelled its tax advantages.