The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has sealed a Hamas tunnel it uncovered two months ago that the terrorist group had built under two of the UN agency’s boys schools in the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza.
The tunnel, between two and three metres underground, passed under the Maghazi Elementary Boys A&B School and the Maghazi Preparatory Boys School, and was built both westward into Gaza and eastward toward the security fence with Israel, according to UNRWA.
In a press release written in June, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness Gunness said: “UNRWA can confirm that the tunnel has no entry or exit points on the premises nor is it connected to the schools or other buildings in any way”.
He added: “UNRWA condemns the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way”.
During the 2014 Gaza conflict, stockpiles of rockets were found in multiple school buildings that were controlled by UNRWA. In official statements the body condemned the groups for endangering the lives of civilians and asked “the warring parties to respect the inviolability of UN property”.
