🟠 UNRWA did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza.

- UNRWA is made aware of reports through the media regarding a tunnel under the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza.

- UNRWA staff left its headquarters in Gaza City on 12 October following the Israeli evacuation orders and as bombardment intensified in the area.

- We have not used that compound since we left it nor are we aware of any activity that may have taken place there.

- We understand, through media reporting, that the Israeli Army has deployed troops within the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza City.

- We are therefore unable to confirm or otherwise comment on these reports.

- In times of “no active conflict” UNRWA inspects inside its premises every quarter, the last inspection for the UNRWA Gaza premises was completed in September 2023.

- UNRWA is a Human development and humanitarian organisation that does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises.

- In the past, whenever suspicious cavity was found close to or under UNRWA premises, protest letters were promptly filed to parties to the conflict, including both the de facto authorities in Gaza (Hamas) and the Israeli authorities. The matter was consistently reported in annual reports presented to the General Assembly and made public.

- These recent media reports merit an independent inquiry that is currently not possible to undertake given Gaza is an active war zone.

- The Israeli Authorities have not informed UNRWA officially about the alleged tunnel.

Phillippe Lazzarini
@UNLazzarini

... Trying to be more hypocritical than that will be quite hard ...

🇮🇱 @israel_report