Israeli troops raided a medical clinic and a UNRWA school in a humanitarian compound in the northern Gaza town of Shejaya, the Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday.
As part of operational searches of civilian sites converted by Hamas into combat facilities, soldiers raided a UN school used by Hamas’s Shejaya Battalion as a weapons warehouse and hideout. Inside the school, soldiers seized weapons, grenades and intelligence documents.
Soldiers also located a war room inside a Shejaya medical clinic containing communications devices, enemy documents, and observation devices.
In a video released by the IDF, Col. Elad Tzuri, commanding officer of the 7th Brigade, explained that the school and clinic were “inside a compound that is supposed to be a compound for those taking shelter.” The video showed rows of rifles, grenades, explosives and ammunition.
“This is further evidence of Hamas embedding itself in civilian structures for terror purposes,” the IDF said in its statement.
Over the past day, the troops eliminated several terrorists, located weapons, and conducted targeted raids on booby-trapped combat compounds in and around Shejaya. The Air Force also struck dozens of Hamas infrastructure sites.
The UN Relief and Works Agency, 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.
On May 30, the Knesset approved the first reading of legislation authorizing the Foreign Ministry to designate UNRWA as a terror organization and strip it of its diplomatic immunity, tax-exempt status, and other legal benefits. On the same day, the Israel Lands Authority ordered UNRWA to vacate its Jerusalem offices over violations of its lease.
Israel’s largest bank froze UNRWA’s account in February over suspicious financial transfers that the agency failed to adequately explain. That same month, 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.
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.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 116 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed dead.
