The Israeli Foreign Minister on Saturday deemed "imperative" the immediate resignation of the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, after the discovery, according to the army, of a Hamas tunnel under the headquarters of the Unrwa in Gaza.
“The discovery of a deep involvement of the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza with Hamas, in particular its use for terrorist activities and an entry point to the tunnels” of the Palestinian Islamist movement “requires immediate action”, a said Israel Katz on X. “The prompt resignation” of Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency, “is imperative,” he said.
The exposure of @UNRWA's Gaza headquarters' deep involvement with Hamas, including its use for terror activities and as an access point to terror tunnels, requires immediate action.
@UNLazzarini's claim of unawareness is not only absurd but also an affront to common sense.
His… https://t.co/rINlPbsKVn
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) February 10, 2024
Unrwa, which Israel accuses of being "totally infiltrated by Hamas", is the main humanitarian aid organization in the Gaza Strip, in the grip of a serious humanitarian crisis due to the war provoked by the attack of Hamas in Israel on October 7.
The UN agency stressed that it had not occupied its headquarters since October 12 - five days after the Hamas attack - and requested the opening of an independent investigation.
According to the Israeli army and the Shin Beth (Internal Security Service), military operations in Gaza City in recent weeks led to the discovery of a "tunnel entrance" near a school run by the UN humanitarian agency.
Over the past ten years, Hamas has dug numerous tunnels in the Gaza Strip, where its fighters hide, according to Israel.
In October, a study by the Modern War Institute of the American Academy West Point identified 1,300 tunnels there, for more than 500 km of underground corridors.
“The entrance led to an underground terrorist tunnel that was an important asset for Hamas military intelligence and passed under the building that serves as UNRWA's main headquarters in the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli army and the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. Shin Beth in a statement.
"The electrical infrastructure" of the tunnel - 700 meters long and located 18 meters underground - "was connected" to the agency's headquarters, "indicating that Unrwa installations supplied the tunnel with electricity", according to them .
An AFP photographer was among a group of journalists who were taken by the Israeli army into the building and tunnel on Thursday.
Israel's accusations 'deserve an independent investigation'
Documents and a stockpile of weapons in the UN compound “confirmed that the offices had also been used by Hamas terrorists,” add the army and Shin Beth.
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“We have not used this building since we left it and we are not aware of any activity that may have taken place there,” he added.
Israel's accusations “deserve an independent investigation”, underlined the head of the UN agency.
- UNRWA did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza.
- UNRWA is made aware of reports through the media regarding a tunnel under the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza.
- UNRWA staff left its headquarters in Gaza City on 12 October following the Israeli evacuation orders and as…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) February 10, 2024
Israel recently accused UNRWA of having had 12 employees, out of its 13,000 in the Gaza Strip, involved in the Hamas attack.
He also assured last week that he would prove “UNRWA’s links with terrorism”.
An internal UN investigation is underway concerning the employees accused by Israel, from which UNRWA has separated, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed an independent commission to assess the "neutrality" of the agency.
In response to Israel's accusations, a dozen countries, including major donors such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden, announced they were suspending their funding to UNRWA.