International scrutiny of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, tasked with providing relief for Palestinian refugees, intensified after Israeli Defense Forces discovered a “Hamas tunnel network” beneath the agency’s Gaza headquarters. Over the weekend of Feb. 10, IDF officials reported the discovery of a tunnel shaft near a UNRWA school. The shaft reportedly led to an underground Hamas tunnel directly beneath the headquarters.
“We want every international organization to work in Gaza,” said IDF Lt. Col. Ido, whose last name was withheld for anonymity. “They are not our problem. Our problem is Hamas, operating within and underneath UNRWA. We will now reveal what we have found during the past two weeks.”
According to the soldiers, the tunnel is 700 meters long and 18 meters deep. It features “multiple blast doors and various intelligence assets seized by the forces.”
Soldiers reported finding Hamas offices inside, stocked with rifles, ammunition, grenades and explosives. The Israeli military also alleged that the tunnel’s electrical infrastructure was connected to UNRWA’s main headquarters above, and suggested that the agency provided Hamas with electricity that was generated from humanitarian aid fuel.
The Associated Press reported that its journalists stood in the UNRWA headquarters building and observed wires connecting underground. The IDF referred to this area as Hamas’ data center.
“Twenty meters above us is the UNRWA headquarters,” Ido said. “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 through are powered from here.”
UNRWA officials claimed they had no knowledge of the underground Hamas facilities and called for an “independent inquiry.”
The organization faces heightened scrutiny following allegations that 12 of its staff members participated in an Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, resulting in 1,200 casualties and the captivity of 240 hostages in southern Israel.
UNRWA officials stated that 10 of the 12 employees implicated were terminated, while two were deceased before the Israeli claims emerged.
According to an Israeli intelligence dossier released in January, at least 190 UNRWA employees are described as “hardened fighters, killers,” with 10% of the agency’s workforce having ties to militant groups.
The allegations prompted donors, including the United States and Germany, to suspend $400 million in funding to the agency.
Last week, Biden administration officials said they would not resume aid to UNRWA until the investigation concludes.
The UNRWA is now struggling to provide aid to over 1.5 million displaced Gazans in Rafah, who suffer from severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine. The UNRWA chief is warning of the agency’s imminent collapse.
As deadly Israeli airstrikes hit the territory overnight, Palestinians in Rafah fear for a potential ground offensive by the IDF. Over a million Palestinians have nowhere else to seek refuge.