Video and images released by the IDF on its social media channels show the devices found in bags belonging to the UN agency in Gaza| Photo: Reproduction/@IDFFarsi
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday (22) that they found explosives in bags bearing the logo of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the IDF included images of the bags, located near a school, and claimed to have also found weapons, intelligence documents and bulletproof vests in the area.
Israel has flagged the UN agency as having links to Hamas and in January accused 12 of its staff of involvement in the Palestinian group’s terror attacks, which resulted in a massacre on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
Last week, the UN Department of Home Affairs (OIOS) said nine of the UNRWA staff identified by Israel “may” have been involved in the October 7 attack, for which they were fired, but the agency specified that it was unable to “independently” verify the evidence in Israeli custody.
Israel launched a ground offensive against Rafah in early May, stretching along the Gaza coast to the city of Deir al-Balah in the center of the territory.
The IDF reported today that it has eliminated around 50 Palestinian terrorists in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in the past few hours. The operations in Rafah began with the aim of eliminating the Hamas brigade in the city.
Yesterday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the four battalions that made up the brigade had been eliminated, but he made no mention of an end to hostilities in the region, where the Rafah crossing is closed to humanitarian aid.