Hamas had command tunnel under U.N. Gaza headquarters, Israeli military says

By Dylan Martinez

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli forces have found a tunnel community a whole lot of metres (yards) lengthy and operating partly underneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters, the navy says, calling it new proof of Hamas exploitation of the principle reduction company for Palestinians.

Military engineers took reporters for international information retailers by means of the passages at a time of disaster for UNRWA, which has launched an inside probe and seen a string of donor nations freeze funding over allegations final month by Israel that a few of its employees doubled as Hamas operatives.

The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying data to tarnish UNRWA, which employs 13,000 folks within the Gaza Strip and has been a lifeline for the aid-dependent inhabitants for years. The company runs faculties, major healthcare clinics and different social companies, and distributes help, describing its actions as purely humanitarian.

UNRWA Headquarters is in Gaza Metropolis, amongst northern areas that Israeli troops and tanks overran early within the four-month-old conflict towards the governing Islamist faction Hamas, sending a whole lot of hundreds of civilians fleeing southward.

Reporters on the carefully escorted journey entered a shaft subsequent to a college on the periphery of the U.N. compound, descending to the concrete-lined tunnel. Twenty minutes of strolling by means of the stifling scorching, slim and infrequently winding passage introduced them beneath UNRWA Headquarters, a military lieutenant-colonel main the tour mentioned.

The tunnel, which the navy mentioned was 700 metres lengthy and 18 metres deep, bifurcated at occasions, revealing side-rooms. There was an workplace house, with metal safes that had been opened and emptied. There was a tiled bathroom. One giant chamber was full of pc servers, one other with industrial battery stacks.

“All the things is carried out from right here. All of the power for the tunnels, which you walked by means of them are powered from right here,” mentioned the lieutenant-colonel, who gave solely his first title, Ido.

“This is likely one of the central instructions of the intelligence. This place is likely one of the Hamas intelligence items, the place they commanded a lot of the fight.”

However Ido mentioned Hamas appeared to have evacuated within the face of the Israeli advance, preemptively slicing off communications cables that, in an above-ground a part of the tour, he confirmed operating by means of the ground of the UNRWA Headquarters’ basement.

It appeared that heavy Israeli barrages and sustained winter rains may have performed an element within the departure: A number of stretches of the tunnel have been clogged with dislodged sand and knee-high water.

In a press release, UNRWA mentioned it had vacated the headquarters on Oct. 12, 5 days after the conflict started, and was subsequently “unable to verify or in any other case remark” on the Israeli discovering.

“UNRWA … doesn’t have the navy and safety experience nor the capability to undertake navy inspections of what’s or is likely to be underneath its premises,” the assertion mentioned.

“Previously, at any time when (a) suspicious cavity was discovered near or underneath UNRWA premises, protest letters have been promptly filed to events to the battle, together with each the de facto authorities in Gaza (Hamas) and the Israeli authorities.”

UNRWA’s supporters say it’s the solely company with the technique of aiding Palestinians in deepening humanitarian misery. Israel says the company is “perforated by Hamas” and should be changed. Hamas has denied working in civilian amenities.

“We all know that they (Hamas) have folks working in UNRWA. We wish each worldwide group to work in Gaza. That’s not an issue. Our drawback is the Hamas,” Ido informed reporters.

Lack of cellphone reception within the tunnel made geolocating it as underneath UNRWA Headquarters inconceivable. As a substitute, reporters have been requested to place private gadgets in a bucket that was lowered by rope right into a vertical gap on the grounds of the headquarters. They have been reunited with the still-tethered gadgets through the tunnel tour.

As a situation of taking journalists on the journey, the Israeli navy didn’t permit pictures of navy intelligence resembling maps or sure gear within the convoy of armoured autos they traveled in. It additionally requested approval earlier than transmission of pictures and video footage taken on the journey.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Modifying by Frances Kerry)