Israel unveils underground tunnels under Gaza city's UN agency headquarters

Israel unveils underground tunnels under Gaza city’s UN agency headquarters

NEW DELHI: The Israeli military claims to have discovered tunnels beneath the main headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City, alleging that Hamas militants used the space as an electrical supply room.

The revelation of the tunnels marks the recent development in Israel’s campaign against the embattled agency, accusing it of collaborating with Hamas.

Following recent Israeli claims that a dozen staff members were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the agency is facing a financial crisis. Major donor states have suspended their funding, and there are ongoing twin investigations.

The agency reported that Israel has frozen its bank account, imposed restrictions on aid shipments, and canceled tax benefits. The army invited journalists to inspect the tunnel on Thursday.

While it was not definitively proven that Hamas militants operated in the tunnels beneath the UNWRA facility, it did show that a section of the tunnel passed underneath the facility’s courtyard. The military claimed that the headquarters supplied the tunnels with electricity.

UNWRA says it has no prior knowledge of the facility’s underground elements findings merit an “independent inquiry,” which the agency is unable to perform due to the ongoing war.

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Situated on the western edge of Gaza City, the headquarters now lie in ruins. To uncover the tunnel, forces employed a tactic previously used elsewhere in the strip, overturning piles of red earth to create a crater-like hole revealing a small tunnel entrance. The revealed shaft led to an underground passageway that extended for at least half a kilometer (quarter of a mile), featuring a minimum of 10 doors.

At a certain point, journalists could look upward from the tunnel through a hole and establish eye contact with soldiers positioned in a courtyard within the UNWRA facility.

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Inside one of the UNWRA buildings, journalists observed a room filled with computers, accompanied by wires extending down into the ground. Soldiers guided them to a room in the underground tunnel,where they claimed the wires connected.

The underground chamber featured a wall of electrical cabinets adorned with multicolored buttons and was adorned with numerous cables. The military alleged that this room operated as a central hub, supplying power to the tunnel infrastructure in the vicinity.

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“Twenty meters above us is the UNRWA headquarters,” said Lt. Col. Ido, whose last name was redacted by the military. “This is the electricity room, you can see all around here. The batteries, the electricity on walls, everything is conducted from here, all the energy for the tunnels which you walked though them are powered from here.”

Hamas has openly acknowledged constructing extensive tunnel networks across Gaza. A primary objective of the Israeli offensive has been to dismantle this network, alleging that Hamas utilizes it to transport fighters, weapons, and supplies throughout the territory. Israel accuses Hamas of employing civilians as human shields and has uncovered numerous tunnels located near mosques, schools, and UN facilities.

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UNWRA communications director Juliette Touma said that the agency was unaware of what lay beneath it. She mentioned having visited the facility multiple times and not recognising the electrical room. In a statement, Touma wrote that UNWRA had conducted a regular quarterly inspection of the facility in September.

“UNRWA is a human development and humanitarian organization that does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises,” read the statement.

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Within the tunnel, journalists observed a small bathroom with a toilet and a faucet, a room with shelves, and another room containing two small vehicles that soldiers claimed militants used to navigate the tunnel network. The military stated on Saturday night that the tunnel originated at a UNWRA school, measuring 700 meters (765 yards) in length and 18 meters (20 yards) in depth.

The military reported discovering rifles, ammunition, grenades, and explosives in the facility, alleging its use by Hamas militants. UNWRA’s Juliette Touma mentioned that the agency has not returned to the headquarters since staff evacuated on October 12 and is unaware of how the facility may have been utilized.

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Leaving the facility, identifying a single fully intact window was nearly impossible. The walls were marked with bullet holes, shrapnel scattered throughout, and crumpled UN vehicles balanced precariously atop debris from buildings. Dogs roamed the area.

“The Israeli army is occupying our biggest UNRWA headquarters,” Touma said in response to Israeli allegations. “That’s what’s outrageous.”

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Throughout its four-month campaign in Gaza, Israel has found similar basic accommodations in tunnels. The offensive was initiated after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, resulting in approximately 1,200 casualties and the abduction of 250 hostages taken back to Gaza.

Since then, Israeli warplanes and ground forces have caused the deaths of more than 27,000 Palestinians in the strip, resulting in a humanitarian catastrophe and extensive damage.

(With input from agencies)

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