Israel has poured scorn on claims by the head of UNRWA that it was unaware of a subterranean Hamas facility built under the aid agency’s Gaza HQ.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA — which was set up to aid Palestinian refugees in 1949 following Israel’s War of Independence —tweeted that it “did not know what was under its headquarters” following revelations of the Hamas data centre by Israeli military officials.
But his claim of ignorance was immediately dismissed by Israel’s Co-ordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) which tweeted back, “Oh, you knew”….
Israeli officials believe the underground data centre beneath the UNWRA HQ, which had computer servers and living quarters, was used by the terrorist group for intelligence gathering and communciations.
“There is no doubt that UNRWA staff knew that [Hamas] was digging a massive tunnel beneath them,” Colonel Benny Aharon, commander of the 401st Armoured Brigage, was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying “Whoever worked at UNRWA knew very well who was coming in, and who they were covering for.”
Oh, you knew.
Digging a tunnel takes longer than 4 months.
We invited senior @UN officials to see, and during past meetings with you and other UN officials, we stated Hamas’s use of UNRWA's headquarters.
You chose to ignore the facts so you can later try and deny them. https://t.co/EIliKpDi5h— COGAT (@cogatonline) February 10, 2024
Mick Hartley 
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