2024-02-17 11:14:46
The Israeli military says it has discovered an underground data center used by the Hamas movement for intelligence and communications purposes under the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City. This was reported by Reuters, AP, AFP and The Times of Israel, whose reporters visited the tunnel accompanied by Israeli soldiers.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the agency did not know what was under its headquarters and did not have the expertise or capacity to find out what was happening under its buildings. He added that the workers had already left the headquarters on October 12, five days after the start of the war.
According to the Israeli military, the discovered space is further evidence that UNRWA is cooperating with the Palestinian movement Hamas. Israel was recently accused by the UN office that 12 of its employees participated in the preparations of this terrorist attack. The allegation led to funding cuts to the agency by both Israel and many other countries, including the US, Germany and Britain. The European Commission is requesting an independent audit of the office. UNRWA says that if the funding situation is not resolved by the end of February, it will have to suspend its activities.
According to the Israeli army, the Hamas movement had an office and accommodation for IT workers in the 700-meter-long concrete tunnel system, which lies at a depth of about 18 meters. The tunnel bifurcated in places, revealing side rooms that contained office spaces with emptied steel safes or a tiled toilet. One large room was filled with computer servers, another with a row of industrial batteries, Reuters describes.