UN Agency Admits Hamas Had Attack Tunnel Under Gaza Schoolyard Bombed By Israel

UN Agency Admits Hamas Had Attack Tunnel Under Gaza Schoolyard Bombed By Israel

Hamas and other Gaza terror groups routinely and deliberately locate military facilities, including rocket launchers and tunnels, under and around civilian locations such as schools, hospitals, and apartments.

During the 2014 Gaza conflict, we covered how Hamas hides in, under and around Gaza’s main hospital, and the media covers it up (Video).

Even the UN has admitted multiple times in the past that Palestinian terror groups use its facilities in Gaza.

Gaza Beach school, 2014: "A 120 MM mortar tube, a mortar bipod & 20 mortar-round containers—with ammunition—were discovered under a blanket in the corner of a locked classroom." UNRWA "notified the local authorities" & "asked that the weapons be removed." https://t.co/HrNMb4GaqI pic.twitter.com/xhx8t8uHnt

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 6, 2021

This school tunnel was exposed in 2017 (via IDF blog):

In the 2021 Gaza conflict, Hamas and others did the same thing, firing rockets from civilian areas knowing that Israel’s attempt to stop the rocket fire would end up injuring or killing some civilians. Hamas and their international media helpers then exploit the civilian deaths to demonize Israel.

If there were any doubt how Hamas uses children as human shields, even the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which itself has been shown to teach children to hate Jews, admits that a recent Israeli missile attack on a schoolyard exposed an attack tunnel built under the school.

The UNRWA statement first condemned Israel for attacking the school, then admitted that the missile — which cratered the yard of the school — exposed an attack tunnel:

With no advanced warning, between 13 and 15 May 2021, the Israeli Air Force conducted strikes that caused damage to UNRWA installations, most notably to the UNRWA Zaitoun Preparatory Boys’ School “A” and Elementary Boys’ School “A”. This included the school inner compound yard, which was struck by two missiles, contrary to the inviolability of UNRWA premises and despite the schools being designated as an emergency shelter for civilians during the 11-day escalation. The strike calls into question respect for the fundamental principle of inviolability. Thankfully, no displaced persons were inside the school at the time of the strike and no physical injuries were caused.

The Agency’s installations, like all United Nations facilities, are marked as such and fly a United Nations flag on the roof. UNRWA shares the coordinates of all of its installations periodically with relevant Israeli authorities and in times of conflict, the coordinates of designated emergency shelters are shared daily.

While investigating how to secure the building from the missiles, a detailed assessment on 31 May 2021 revealed what appears to be a cavity and a possible tunnel, at the location of the missile strike. The depth of the cavity is approximately 7.5 meters below the surface of the school. UNRWA discovered the existence of a possible tunnel in the context of the investigation of the fired missiles. There is no indication of the existence of any entry or exit points for the tunnel within the premises.

UNRWA condemns the existence and potential use by Palestinian armed groups of such tunnels underneath its schools in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable that students and staff be placed at risk in such a way.

Note that UNRWA also admits how precise the attack was, creating a crater exposing the tunnel. There is no indication that anyone was injured in the attack, something UNRWA certainly would have highlighted had it happened. This is consistent with the UNRWA local director’s statement that Israel’s missile strikes were precise. something he later apologized for saying after threats that forced him and other senior local UNRWA staff to flee Gaza.

Here is a video of the school in question (h/t Hillel Neuer Twitter). Note the large open yard, which presumably was where the Israeli bunker-busting bomb created the crater exposing the tunnel.

The cratering of the schoolyard to expose an attack tunnel appears to have been part of Israel’s attack on Hamas’ so-called ‘metro’ system of tens of miles of attack tunnels. Destroying the metro was a major objective and accomplishment of the IDF during the conflict.

[Featured Image: Hamas Attack Tunnel Destroyed IDF, October 11 2018]

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