The Israeli Defense Forces released new footage Tuesday afternoon showing a number of Hamas terrorists launching attacks from an United Nations Works and Relief Agency warehouse and using official UN vehicles for transport inside the Gaza Strip.
"On Saturday in eastern Rafah, the IDF identified terrorists openly operating at UNRWA's central logistics compound and next to UN vehicles. The terrorists also opened fire at civilians just outside the compound," Israel War Room posted on X. "Israel shared the information with senior officials in the international community and called on the UN to investigate."
Gunmen, likely #Hamas terrorists, hanging out at an @UNRWA warehouse in eastern #Rafah a few days ago and identified by an @IDF drone.
— Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) May 14, 2024
The @UN needs to answer some serious questions.
Imagine what would’ve happened if we were to target them?
The hypocrisy is astounding. pic.twitter.com/sCHiKZhZpQ
This UNWRA compound is in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a place the Biden administration and Democrats have been adamant IDF soldiers should not be operating to take out Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Caught on 📸: Terrorists roaming and shooting at an @UNRWA compound, accompanied by @UN vehicles.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 14, 2024
The compound is located in eastern Rafah and is a central point for the distribution of aid on UNRWA’s behalf of Gaza.@cogatonline conveyed the findings to senior officials in… pic.twitter.com/E6rQfN482A
In the aftermath of October 7, when 1400 civilians were slaughtered and hundreds were taken hostage into the Gaza Strip, it was revealed thousands of Gazans working for UNWRA have ties to terrorist groups. At least a dozen UNWRA employees directly participated in the massacres.
"At least 12 employees of the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency had connections to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and around 10% of all of its Gaza staff have ties to Islamist militant groups, according to intelligence reports," the Wall Street Journal reports. "Six United Nations Relief and Works Agency workers were part of the wave of Palestinian militants who killed 1,200 people in the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust, according to the intelligence dossier. Two helped kidnap Israelis. Two others were tracked to sites where scores of Israeli civilians were shot and killed. Others coordinated logistics for the assault, including procuring weapons."
Just last week the IDF struck a Hamas command center stationed under an UNWRA building. From the Foundation for Defense of Democracies:
Israeli planes on May 5 destroyed a Hamas command center located in a complex run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in central Gaza. According to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet, Hamas used the center to stage multiple attacks against Israeli troops in Gaza’s central corridor. “Hamas intentionally positioned the command-and-control position within the vicinity of an active UNRWA location, jeopardizing the Gazan civilians taking refuge there,” the statement said.
Israel has accused the UN agency — which is charged with maintaining the welfare of Palestinians UNRWA classifies as refugees — of collaborating with Hamas. The agency employs active Hamas members and ignores Hamas’s use of its facilities. UNRWA does not recognize U.S.-designated terrorist groups, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as terrorist entities. UNRWA said on May 6 that it would not heed Israel’s call for civilians to evacuate parts of the southern city of Rafah, where the agency has thousands of employees.