Israeli aircraft killed 15 terrorists in a strike on a Hamas command center located inside a UNRWA school on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The war room was embedded in a UN Relief and Works Agency school in the central Gaza area of Nuseirat. According to the IDF, at least 10 of the terror operatives killed were members of Hamas with the rest being members of other terror groups. The Hamas terrorists included members of the elite Nukhba force, which played a leading role in the October 7 attacks on Israeli communities.
The IDF’s announcement included a map of the school compound along with the location of the Hamas war room.
“The Hamas war room had been used by the terrorist organization to plan multiple attacks against IDF troops in central Gaza in recent weeks. The Hamas terrorist organization systematically exploits the civilian population and institutions as human shields for their terrorist activities against the State of Israel,” the military said.
UNRWA, which supports Palestinian refugees, has been under fire for months, with Israeli officials demanding the agency be stripped of its authority in Gaza and defunded amid revelations that members of the agency’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. The Israeli government is bypassing UNRWA in distributing humanitarian aid.
Israeli intelligence incriminating 12 staffers of their participation, including using UNRWA vehicles and facilities during the massacres was leaked to The New York Times. Afterward, The Wall Street Journal reported that one in 10 UNRWA employees is either an active member of or has ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Israel’s largest bank froze UNRWA’s account over suspicious financial transfers that the agency failed to adequately explain.
In February, Israeli forces discovered a Hamas complex located directly under the UNRWA’s Gaza City headquarters and connected directly to the agency’s electricity system. The facility included numerous computer servers belonging to the terror group.
Following the event of which terrorists were seen armed inside an UNRWA logistics compound in eastern Rafah, we conveyed the findings to senior officials in the international community and called on the @UN to conduct an urgent investigation into the matter. pic.twitter.com/ytgyZIE8WW
— COGAT (@cogatonline) May 14, 2024
Reports released by IMPACT-SE and UN Watch documented UNRWA employees expressing support for the attacks on social media.
Soldiers found missiles hidden among UNRWA relief supplies while sacks belonging to the agency were filled with dirt and used in the lining of tunnels.
Jerusalem’s deputy mayor accused UNRWA of undermining Israeli sovereignty over the city, among other things.
On May 4, Israel struck another Hamas facility inside a UNRWA complex.
Palestinian refugees are the only refugee population with its own dedicated UN agency. The rest of the world’s refugees fall under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Israeli officials have called for UNRWA to be closed and for Palestinian refugees to be brought under the responsibility of the UNHCR.
The UNRWA’s definition of refugees not only includes the original refugees but also their descendants in perpetuity, including those who have citizenship in other countries. The UNHCR definition does not confer refugee status on descendants.
At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Around 30 of the remaining 132 hostages are believed dead.
