Hamas tunnel was found beneath the UN headquarters in Gaza

It is noted that over the past two weeks, the Israel Defense Forces conducted a series of raids on Palestinian terrorist targets in the northern and central parts of Gaza. During the operations in the Shati and Tel al-Hawa areas in the north of the city, approximately 120 Hamas terrorists were killed, and 20 infrastructure objects of the militants were destroyed.

In the course of the special operation, the Israeli military discovered a shaft leading to an underground tunnel used by terrorists. It served as a crucial asset for Hamas military intelligence and ran beneath a building that serves as the main headquarters of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) and the organization's operations in the Gaza Strip.

"The tunnel was 700 meters long and 18 meters deep and contained several blast doors. The forces located electrical infrastructure inside the tunnel connected to UNRWA's main headquarters, under which the underground tunnel was located, indicating that UNRWA's facilities supplied the tunnel with electricity," the statement reads.

Reuters reports that inside the tunnel, an office space was found with open and emptied metal safes, as well as a tiled bathroom. One large room was filled with computer servers, while another contained industrial batteries.

According to a representative of the IDF, Hamas managed to evacuate from the tunnel, cutting communication cables that ran through the basement of the UNRWA headquarters.

"This is one of the central commands of the intelligence. This place is one of the Hamas intelligence units, where they commanded most of the combat," stated an IDF representative to the agency.

These findings were found within @UNRWA facilities:

Acting on ISA intelligence, the forces discovered a tunnel shaft near an UNRWA school, leading to an underground terrorist tunnel beneath UNRWA's main headquarters. The forces found electrical infrastructure inside the tunnel… pic.twitter.com/n5EWJpyI4o

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 10, 2024

In light of these facts, the Israel Defense Forces conducted a raid on the central headquarters of the UN Agency, which houses offices of various humanitarian and international organizations.

Inside the building, a significant amount of weaponry was found, including rifles, ammunition, grenades, and explosives. Intelligence and documents discovered in the offices of UNRWA employees indicated that these premises were utilized by Hamas terrorists.

UNRWA stated that all staff had evacuated the headquarters on October 12 - five days after the start of the conflict - and therefore "cannot confirm or otherwise comment" on the findings of the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel's war with the Palestinian Hamas group

On October 7, 2023, militants from the radical Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas launched an attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. During the assault, terrorists engaged in mass killings and abductions of both military personnel and civilians, simultaneously firing rockets at the country's major cities. According to official data, in the first days of the attack, Hamas militants killed 1200 civilians and soldiers and kidnapped about 250 individuals.

In late October, the Israel Defense Forces initiated a ground military operation in the Gaza Strip, which is ongoing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the operation aims to completely destroy the operational and governmental capabilities of Hamas and to free hostages.

On February 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar reported that Hamas had given its preliminary consent to a ceasefire and an agreement on the release of hostages. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer discussed the agreement, which would allow the release of 136 hostages.

However, in recent days, Netanyahu rejected Hamas's ceasefire proposal for the return of hostages and emphasized that a complete victory for the IDF in the Gaza Strip is imminent.