The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on Tuesday appealed to the Hamas terror group that controls Gaza to respect the “inviolability of its premises”, after a hand grenade and a military vest were found in one of its schools.
In a statement, the UN agency said that it “strongly and unequivocally condemns the individual or group responsible” and called on the “de facto authorities in the Gaza Strip to ensure that this inviolability is respected and upheld”.
UNRWA insisted that it has “reinforced” its procedures to keep its premises free of weapons but that “due to its funding crisis” it could “no longer afford to have guards at its 276 schools but carries out routine inspections”.
During the Operation Protective Edge conflict in Gaza in 2014, rockets were found in UNRWA schools on several occasions.
