The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that it found a “man-made cavity” underneath one of its schools in Gaza.
The agency “protested strongly to the relevant authorities” to express “outrage and condemnation” over the presence of the structure.
“In accordance with UNRWA protocols, the agency immediately cordoned off the area and swiftly took the necessary measures to render the school safe, including permanently sealing the cavity,” it said.
“The presence of a man-made cavity underneath the grounds of an UNRWA school is a serious violation of the agency’s neutrality and a breach of international law. Moreover, it exposes children and agency staff to significant security and safety risks.”
Some observers and analysts of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict accuse Hamas of hiding weapons in civilian infrastructure.
Hamas has not commented on the UN findings, while a number of other militant groups operate in Gaza.
Last year, UNRWA said “a cavity and a possible tunnel” were found under the UNRWA Zaitoun Preparatory and Elementary Boys' School after an Israeli strike caused damage to the civilian facility.
The school was declared an emergency shelter during the bloody 11-day war with Israel.
Short of naming Hamas as the group responsible for the underground structures, UNRWA condemned “the existence and potential use by Palestinian armed groups of such tunnels”.
UNRWA provides support for 1.4 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza.
In pictures: conflict in Gaza in 2022
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Riyad Mansour, Palestinian permanent observer to the UN, addresses a Security Council meeting in New York. Reuters -
Palestinians search through the rubble of a building in which Khaled Mansour, a top Islamic Jihad militant, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Sunday, in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip. AP -
Mohammad Arada removes a tricycle from the rubble of his home after it was destroyed by an Israeli air strike, in the Rafah refugee camp. AP -
Women mourn during the funeral of four teenage Palestinian cousins in Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
People march during a rally in support of Gaza Strip residents at the Grand Central Terminal in New York. EPA -
Palestinians celebrate on a street in Gaza city after a ceasefire was announced. Reuters -
Palestinians burn tyres near the Huwwara checkpoint, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, during a protest against Israel's air strikes in Gaza. EPA -
Children cry during the funeral of Tamim Hijazi in Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. The Gaza resident was killed in an Israeli air strike. AP -
Smoke billows from a building struck during an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel bombarded Islamic Jihad positions in the Gaza Strip for a third day, with 31 Palestinians killed. AFP -
Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike on Rafah in the Gaza Strip. EPA -
A Palestinian rocket is fired from Gaza City toward Israel as Israel bombarded Islamic Jihad positions in the Gaza Strip for a third day. AFP -
The Palestinian Civil Defence evacuate a wounded man following an explosion in Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip. AP -
A Palestinian man in the rubble of his badly damaged home, which was struck by Israeli missiles in Gaza City. AFP -
A Palestinian woman and her daughter survey the damage to their home, caused by the Israeli air strikes, in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Palestinians search the rubble of a building in which Khaled Mansour, a chief Islamic Jihad militant, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. AP -
An Israeli Iron Dome air defence system launches a missile to intercept rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. AFP -
The friend of a young Palestinian killed during the night in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, is overcome at his funeral in the same camp. AFP -
The body of Palestinian Muhammad Hassouna, who was killed in an Israeli air strike, is prepared for his funeral at a hospital in Rafah. AP -
An Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter fires flares in the sky above the Israel-Gaza border. Reuters -
A Palestinian boy looks out of a car damaged amid Israel-Gaza fighting, in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Israeli police keep watch while Jews visit the Al Aqsa compound in Jerusalem on Sunday. Reuters -
Palestinians search a destroyed building in which leading Islamic Jihad militant Khaled Mansour was killed by an Israeli air strike in Rafah. AP -
Israeli extreme-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, centre, speaks to the media as he makes his way to the Al Aqsa complex in East Jerusalem. EPA -
Israelis rest in a bomb shelter after rocket attacks fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel. Palestinian officials say at least 32 people in Gaza have died in latest surge of violence. AP -
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group fires rockets from Gaza City. Israel's military has said it 'neutralised' the group's leadership group in the enclave, where at least 32 people, including six children, have been killed in three days of Israeli strikes. EPA -
Palestinian medics take an injured man to hospital. AFP -
Palestinians carry an injured girl to hospital following an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
Palestinians search for casualties in the rubble of a residential building in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
A salvo of rockets is fired from Gaza City towards Israel. AFP -
Palestinians gather at a hospital in Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
