AFPI Israeli soldier in tunnel allegedly used by Hamas
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 08:24
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wants UNRWA CEO Philippe Lazzarini to resign. The reason is a tunnel under the Gaza City office of the UN organization, which Israel claims to have found. Katz calls it unbelievable that Lazzarini would not have known about this.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, is also demanding that Lazzarini leave. According to Erdan, it is not that Lazzarini “didn’t know, but you didn’t want to know.” Lazzarini has buried his head in the sand and Israel has previously called for a thorough investigation within UNRWA institutions, Erdan says.
Not proven
This would involve a tunnel of 700 meters long at a depth of 18 meters. He would walk near an UNRWA school and also under the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The tunnel would have been supplied with electricity via the head office. A group of journalists were shown the tunnel.
International news agencies such as Reuters and AP confirm that journalists were led through a tunnel for about 20 minutes. According to AP, it was not conclusively proven that Hamas used the tunnel, but it did indeed pass under UNRWA grounds.
Independent research
The aid organization said in response that it was not aware of a tunnel near its headquarters, but said the findings merit an independent investigation. Such an investigation is not currently possible due to the ongoing war, the organization says, and UNRWA would not have the resources or people to carry it out. UNRWA adds that all parties, including Israel, are always informed in suspicious situations.
Israeli authorities announced at the end of January that a number of UNRWA employees were involved in the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7. Several countries, including the Netherlands, subsequently suspended their support for the organization until extensive research has been conducted. A number of employees have already been dismissed in anticipation of the results of the investigation. About 13,000 people work for UNRWA in Gaza.
2024-02-11 07:24:53
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