To: Interested Parties
From: The 10/7 Project
Re: Hamas Built A Command Center Directly Underneath UNRWA Headquarters
Contact: [email protected]
Hamas built a military command center in a tunnel system that runs directly under the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza. The command center sits 20 yards beneath the main UNRWA office, at the end of a tunnel network that runs for a half-mileunder Gaza. The Hamas tunnel contained a data facility and rows of computers and other supplies, suggesting that the terrorist group used it as an intelligence and communications hub, according to Israeli analysts and international journalists who viewed the site. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition used by the terrorist group were recovered from the tunnel, according to Israeli officials.
UNRWA officials knew about the tunnel system for years, but declined to act. In 2014, the parking lot of the UNRWA headquarters began to sink into the ground, suggesting that Hamas was tunneling beneath the facility. Electrical wires ran from the tunnel network up to the UNRWA electrical room, allowing Hamas to steal UNRWA electricity to power its operations. Former top UNRWA officials told international media that “everyone at UNRWA knew what was happening… but didn’t want to look too closely.” James Lindsay, a former legal counsel for UNRWA, said local UN staff were likely to know about the tunnel and Hamas’s theft of electricity, but were either sympathetic to Hamas or afraid to speak out about their activities. An IDF official told journalists viewing the tunnel system, “There’s a perimeter wall, a gate, cameras, at the gate they log who comes in and out… Whoever worked at UNRWA knew very well who was coming in, and who they were covering for.”
This discovery comes amid international criticism of UNRWA for its links to Hamas. At least 12 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7th massacre, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and took about 240 hostages back to Gaza in the most deadly attack on Jews since the Holocaust. About 10% of UNRWA employees are estimated to be linked to Hamas or other terrorist organizations, according to Israeli intelligence. Over a dozen countries, including the United States, have suspended funding to UNRWA in response to these revelations. The UN last month launched an inquiry into UNRWA to “ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious breaches,” but that investigation is being led by organizations with track records of anti-Israel bias.
The command center’s close proximity to UNRWA headquarters is consistent with Hamas’s tactic of using human shields. The terrorist group deliberately uses hospitals and other civilian infrastructure to store weapons and direct military operations, intentionally placing Gaza civilians at extraordinary risk with the goal of maximizing civilian casualties. Throughout the war and in previous conflicts, Hamas has used hospitals in Gaza, including Al-Shifa Hospital, as bases to coordinate terrorist activities and to and hold hostages, according to U.S. intelligence agencies.
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