"We knew nothing"

Israel: Hamas tunnel discovered under UNRWA headquarters

An Israeli soldier in the tunnel under the UNRWA headquarters - reporters were allowed to inspect the underground passage under military supervision.(Bild: Associated Press)

An explosive discovery under the ground in the Gaza Strip: Israeli soldiers and the domestic intelligence service say they have discovered a tunnel belonging to the terrorist organization Hamas under the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The aid organization claims to have known nothing about it.

The underground passage is said to be 700 meters long and 18 meters deep. According to the military, it was an important facility used by Hamas' military intelligence service.

Photos of the tunnel that is said to have been discovered under the UNRWA headquarters:

(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP )

(Bild: AFP )

Unclear whether use by Hamas even before the war began
Over the past two weeks, the military also claims to have found large quantities of weapons and explosives in the headquarters of the UN organization, which was abandoned by UNRWA in the initial phase of the war. Evidence suggests that the offices and premises of the UNRWA headquarters were used by Hamas terrorists. There was no information on when exactly this use had taken place, whether before or after the start of the war. The information could not initially be independently verified.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini explained in response to the reports about the discovery of the tunnel under his organization's headquarters in Gaza that the aid agency had no knowledge of it. UNRWA staff had already evacuated the headquarters on October 12 on the orders of the Israeli military, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday evening. The organization has not used it since then.

UNRWA denies connection to tunnel
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 continued, including both Hamas and the Israeli authorities. This was also included in annual reports that were presented to the General Assembly and published.

UNRWA is a humanitarian organization and has "neither the military and security expertise nor the capacity to militarily inspect what is or could be under its facilities," he added. At the same time, the Israeli authorities had not officially informed UNRWA about the alleged tunnel.

Israeli soldiers in front of an evacuated UNRWA building(Bild: AFP)

Israel's foreign minister demands resignation of UNRWA chief
Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz immediately rejected Lazzarini's account as "absurd" and called for the UNRWA chief to be replaced immediately. "His immediate resignation is essential," wrote Katz on X.

The aid organization had recently come under heavy criticism. There were repeated accusations from the Israeli side that it was working with Hamas. Specifically, some employees were accused of being involved in the terrorist acts carried out by the Islamist Hamas in Israel on October 7. Several Western countries temporarily suspended payments to UNRWA due to the allegations, including Austria and the two largest donors, the USA and Germany. UN Secretary-General António Guterres promised comprehensive clarification. Cooperation with several employees had been terminated.

The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations on 7 October in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip.