WATCH: Hamas terrorists operating inside UNRWA facility in Rafah, filmed by IDF drone
IDF calls on UN to investigate after releasing concerning video footage
Israel Defense Forces on Sunday released footage showing Hamas terrorists operating freely, and even shooting at Palestinian civilians, inside the central logistics complex of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.
The footage captured on Saturday by an IDF drone shows several armed Hamas terrorists in the area of the UNRWA warehouse compound. At first, they are shown next to two white vehicles clearly marked “UN.”
Later, one of the terrorists can be seen shooting at Palestinian civilians in the area.
The UN compound in eastern Rafah serves as the central logistics hub for the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip.
Following the “extraordinary event,” representatives of the IDF Coordinating Government Operations in the Gaza Strip (COGAT) conveyed the findings to senior officials in the international community and called on the UN to investigate the matter urgently.
“Representatives of COGAT warned about the presence of terrorists in the area, alongside the serious danger to the continued protection of the organization’s facilities posed by the presence of the terrorists in the logistics center complex,” the IDF stated.
“The IDF will continue to act in accordance with international law to distribute aid to the Gaza Strip residents,” the army added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reiterated his call on UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini to resign.
“No lie from António Guterres and Lazzarini will hide the truth: UNRWA is an arm of the terrorist organization Hamas,” Katz wrote on 𝕏.
IDF International Spokesman Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani commented on the incident: “The presence of weapons and gunmen at a humanitarian compound represents a clear violation of UNRWA’s own charter and policy.”
“This video of terrorists on a U.N. compound should raise serious questions: What are terrorists doing inside a U.N. compound? Why are they shooting at civilians? And what exactly is UNRWA‘s involvement?”
IDF Lt.-Col. (R.) Peter Lerner, concurred that the footage posed serious questions for the United Nations
“Imagine what would’ve happened if we were to target them? The hypocrisy is astounding,” he wrote on 𝕏.
“UNRWA pledges neutrality, no weapons allowed on their sites. There is nothing neutral about Hamas gunmen with their pickups and AK-47 on the UN premises,” he continued.
“There is absolutely no agreement that Hamas are off limits. The warehouses were not being evacuated. Hamas strutting around like they own the place,” Lerner wrote.
The incident follows multiple Israeli claims that Hamas has been using UN facilities to conduct terror operations against Israel over the past several months.
Just hours before releasing the drone footage, the IDF stated it struck an operations room of the terror group located in a UNRWA school in the northern Gaza Strip.
Embedded inside an UNRWA school in Nusierat, central Gaza: a Hamas war room.
— COGAT (@cogatonline) May 14, 2024
The war room was used by terrorist operatives in Hamas' military wing.
The @IDF precisely striked in order to minimize harm to uninvolved civilians. 10 Hamas operatives were eliminated. pic.twitter.com/GqS9FDMi8w
The IDF stressed its attack was carefully planned and carried out using precise weaponry to avoid harming civilians as much as possible.
The operations room was used to plan and conduct several terrorist operations against IDF soldiers in the center of the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, the army added.
Several terrorists were killed in the strike, including some belonging to Hamas’ elite Nukhba force, who took an active part in the Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel's border communities.
“The terrorist organization Hamas systematically exploits international institutions and the civilian population as a human shield for terrorist actions against the State of Israel,” the IDF stated.
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
