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Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli military says HAMAS tunnel found under UNRWA headquarters in Gaza

According to IDF press service, 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

TEL AVIV, February 11. /TASS/. The press service of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had uncovered a tunnel used by military intelligence units of Palestine’s radical movement Hamas under the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.

"The forces operated in the areas of Shati and Tel al-Hawa in northern Gaza. Approximately 120 Hamas terrorists were killed and 20 terrorist infrastructure sites were destroyed as part of the operation," the IDF press service said in a statement. "Following ISA intelligence, the forces arrived at a tunnel shaft near an UNRWA school. The shaft led to an underground terror tunnel that served as a significant asset of Hamas' military intelligence and passed under the building that serves as UNRWA's main headquarters in the Gaza Strip."

"The tunnel was 700 meters long and 18 meters deep and contained several blast doors," the statement says. "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."

"Following these findings and based on preliminary ISA intelligence, the forces conducted a targeted raid on UNRWA’s central headquarters, which contains offices for various humanitarian and international organizations," the IDF added. "Large quantities of weapons were found inside the rooms of the building, including rifles, ammunition, grenades and explosives. Intelligence and documents discovered in the offices of UNRWA officials confirmed that the offices had in fact also been used by Hamas terrorists."

During the operation, IDF collected "intelligence will allow the forces to operate against additional Hamas targets."

"The dismantling of the tunnel weakens Hamas' intelligence capabilities," the Israeli military said.

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Palestine Israel Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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