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Israel: UN Agency Boss Should Quit over Hamas 'Tunnel' under Gaza HQ

UN premises are considered "inviolable" in international law and immune from "search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference" © JACK GUEZ / AFP
UN premises are considered "inviolable" in international law and immune from "search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference" © JACK GUEZ / AFP
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Israel: UN Agency Boss Should Quit over Hamas 'Tunnel' under Gaza HQ

UN premises are considered "inviolable" in international law and immune from "search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference" © JACK GUEZ / AFP
UN premises are considered "inviolable" in international law and immune from "search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference" © JACK GUEZ / AFP

Israel's foreign minister called Saturday for the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees to quit, following Israeli claims that a Hamas tunnel had been discovered under its evacuated Gaza City headquarters.

Israel Katz dismissed UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini's claim that he was unaware of its presence as "not only absurd but also an affront to common sense".

"His prompt resignation is imperative," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, AFP reported.

Lazzarini, already under pressure after Israel claimed some UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack, said the agency had not operated from the compound since October 12.

Instead he called for an independent investigation.

Hamas has previously denied Israeli claims that it has dug an extensive network of tunnels under schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure as cover for its activities.

Israel's army and the Shin Bet security agency said operations in Gaza City in recent weeks had led to the discovery of a "tunnel shaft" near a school run by the humanitarian agency.

"The shaft led to an underground terror tunnel that served as a significant asset of Hamas's military intelligence and passed under the building that serves as UNRWA's main headquarters in the Gaza Strip," they added in a statement.

"Electrical infrastructure" in the tunnel -- 700 metres (765 yards) long and 18 metres underground -- "connected" to the agency's HQ, "indicating that UNRWA's facilities supplied the tunnel with electricity", they said.

Documents and a stash of weapons in the UN compound itself "confirmed that the offices had in fact also been used by Hamas terrorists", the joint statement said.

Katz claimed the discovery showed UNRWA's "deep involvement" with Hamas.

UN premises are considered "inviolable" in international law and immune from "search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference".

Lazzarini wrote on X that its staff were forced to leave its Gaza City compound under instruction from Israeli forces as bombardment intensified in the area and had not returned.

"We have not used that compound since we left it nor are we aware of any activity that may have taken place there," he added.

The compound was last inspected in September 2023, he said.

Any suspicious "cavity" found near or under any UNRWA premises was previously reported to the authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Israelis, and also made public, he said.

The latest claims "merit an independent inquiry that is currently not possible to undertake given Gaza is an active war zone", he added.

"The Israeli authorities have not informed UNRWA officially about the alleged tunnel." Instead the agency learned about it from media reports, he said.

The UN has launched two separate probes into UNRWA, the first into Israeli claims that 12 of its staff may have participated on October 7, and the other a review of its overall political neutrality.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has spoken out in defense of the agency, calling it the "backbone" of Gaza aid.

So too has US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said it played an "absolutely indispensable role in trying to make sure that men, women and children who so desperately need assistance in Gaza actually get it."

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Syrian Letter Delivers Response to US Conditions for Sanctions Relief

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attends a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East at the UN Headquarters in New York, April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attends a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East at the UN Headquarters in New York, April 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Syrian Letter Delivers Response to US Conditions for Sanctions Relief

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attends a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East at the UN Headquarters in New York, April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani attends a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East at the UN Headquarters in New York, April 25, 2025. (AFP)

Syria has responded in writing to a list of US conditions for possible partial sanctions relief, saying it had acted on most of them but others required "mutual understandings" with Washington, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.

The United States last month handed Syria a list of eight conditions it wants Damascus to fulfill, including destroying any remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and ensuring foreigners are not given senior governing roles.

Syria is in desperate need of sanctions relief to kickstart an economy collapsed by 14 years of war, during which the United States, Britain and Europe imposed tough sanctions in a bid to put pressure on former president Bashar al-Assad.

In January, the US issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage aid, but this has had limited effect.

In exchange for fulfilling all the US demands, Washington would extend that suspension for two years and possibly issue another exemption, sources told Reuters in March.

Reuters was first to report that senior US official Natasha Franceschi handed the list of conditions to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at an in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18.

Shaibani, in his first address to the United Nations Security Council on Friday, sought to show that Syria was already addressing the demands, including on chemical weapons and the search for missing Americans in Syria.

His public comments were consistent with the contents of Syria's private letter to the US, an undated copy of which was seen by Reuters. Its contents have not been previously reported.

Two Western officials and a Syrian official briefed on the letter said it was consistent with the copy seen by Reuters.

In the four-page document, Syria pledges to set up a liaison office at the foreign ministry to find missing US journalist Austin Tice and details its work to tackle chemical weapons stockpiles, including closer ties with a global arms watchdog.

But it had less to say on other key demands, including removing foreign fighters and granting the US permission for counterterrorism strikes, according to the letter.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed Washington had received a response from Syrian authorities to a US request for them to take "specific, detailed confidence building measures”.

“We are now evaluating the response and do not have anything to share at this time,” the spokesperson said, adding that the US “does not recognize any entity as the government of Syria and that any future normalization of relations will be determined by the interim authorities' actions. "

Syria's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FOREIGN FIGHTERS

The letter said Syrian officials had discussed foreign fighters with former US envoy Daniel Rubinstein but that the issue "requires a broader consultative session."

"What can be confirmed for now is that the issuance of military ranks has been suspended following the earlier announcement regarding the promotion of six individuals," the letter says, an apparent reference to the appointment in December of foreign fighters including Uyghurs and a Turk to positions in the country's armed force.

It did not say whether those appointed ranks had been removed from the foreign fighters and did not list future steps to be taken.

A source briefed on the Syrian government's approach to the issue said Damascus would delay addressing it as much as possible given its view that non-Syrian fighters who helped oust Assad should be treated well.

On a US request for coordination on counterterrorism matters and the ability to carry out strikes on terror targets, the letter said the "matter requires mutual understandings."

It pledged that Syria's new government would not tolerate any threats to US or Western interests in Syria and vowed to put in place "appropriate legal measures," without elaborating.

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had said in an interview earlier this year that US troops deployed in Syria were there without government approval, adding any such presence should be agreed with the state.

A Syrian official briefed on the letter said Syrian officials were brainstorming other ways to weaken extremists without explicitly giving the US permission to carry out strikes, seeing that as a controversial move after years of foreign air forces bombing Syria during its war.

'GUARANTEES'

A senior diplomat and another person briefed on the letter told Reuters that they deemed it addressed five demands in full, but that the remaining were left "outstanding".

They said the letter was sent on April 14 - just 10 days before Shaibani arrived in New York to address the Security Council. It was unclear whether the United States had sent a reply to Syria's letter.

A Syrian official and a US source briefed on the letter both said Shibani was set to discuss its contents with US officials during his trip to New York.

Syria's letter said it hoped the actions taken, which it described as "guarantees," could lead to a meeting to discuss each point in detail, including reopening embassies and lifting sanctions.

On Palestinian militants in Syria, it said Sharaa had formed a committee "to monitor the activities of Palestinian factions," and that armed factions outside state control will not be permitted. It was sent just days before Syria detained two Palestinian officials from the Islamic Jihad militant group.

"While discussions on this matter can continue, the overarching position is that we will not allow Syria to become a source of threat to any party, including Israel," it said.

The letter also acknowledged "ongoing communication" between Syria's counterterrorism authorities and US representatives in Amman over combating ISIS, and said Syria was inclined to expand that collaboration. The direct talks between Syria and the US in Amman have not previously been reported.