The IDF has found a haul of over 100 mortar rounds in Gaza, which could have reached Israel if fired, hidden inside Unrwa blankets.
Israel has long accused the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees of suffering from significant Hamas infiltration, though Unrwa has consistently denied the claims.
The 110 explosive projectiles, which were uncovered by the Israeli military in Southern Gaza on Tuesday, were discovered close enough to the Gaza border to be within range of Israeli territory.
They were concealed within blankets and humanitarian aid brought in by Unrwa, according to the army, though there is no suggestion the agency itself was complicit in the smuggling.
The weapons were delivered prior to the ceasefire last October, the IDF told the Jerusalem Post, and the cache is one of the largest the military has uncovered since the ceasefire began.
The find comes two weeks after Israel tore down the Unrwa headquarters in East Jerusalem.
The demolition, which was carried out by the Israel Lands Authority and Israeli security forces, had been in the pipeline since October 2024, when the Knesset passed legislation to significantly curtail the operations of the agency in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.
Israel alleges that at least 12 members of Unwra staff were directly involved in the October 7 Hamas-led terror attacks, and has also claimed that hundreds of its personnel are members of terrorist organisations, warning that Hamas has infiltrated the agency’s facilities.
The UN has admitted that nine Unrwa staff may have been involved in the attacks, but said Israel has not shared evidence to back up its claim that the agency had been more widely infiltrated.
Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of Shurat HaDin, which represents October 7 victims in a lawsuit against Unwra, said of the demolition: “The evacuation of Unwra’s offices is not collective punishment or politics – it is the legal consequence of an organisation that lost its neutrality.
“When Unwra facilities and staff are tied to Hamas terror, Israel has both the right and the obligation to remove that presence from its capital.”
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who observed the demolition in person, said: “This is an important day for sovereignty in Jerusalem.”
He added: “Today, these terror supporters are being kicked out of here with everything they’ve built. This is what will be done to every terror supporter.”
And Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Unwra had “ceased its operations at this site” and there were no longer “any UN personnel or UN activity there”.
“The compound does not enjoy any immunity and the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law,” a spokesperson added.
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