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IDF Uncovers Hamas Intelligence Center under UNRWA HQ in Gaza City
(Times of Israel) Emanuel Fabian - Hamas hid its data center and server farm - complete with an electrical room, industrial battery power banks and living quarters for Hamas terrorists operating the computer servers - beneath the headquarters of the UNRWA Palestinian refugee agency in the upscale Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City. New intelligence emerging from Israel Security Agency interrogations of captured terrorists helped pinpoint its location. The IDF in recent weeks has returned to carry out smaller operations in northern Gaza. Two Israeli officers were killed during the operation to reach the Hamas data center, both by sniper fire. The main entrance to the tunnel was located under a UNRWA school in the area. However, it had been blocked off by Hamas by the time troops arrived. Instead, combat engineers dug down eight meters to reach the underground passage. Hamas' data center contained half a dozen rows of server cabinets, each with racks of computers for Hamas' operations. Hard drives and some of the computers were taken to Israel to be investigated by intelligence authorities before the tunnel system was demolished in a large explosion. The IDF knows of several more "strategic" Hamas tunnels in Gaza that it will reach in time. Col. Benny Aharon said, "There is no doubt that UNRWA staff knew that [Hamas] was digging a massive tunnel beneath them....Whoever worked at UNRWA knew very well who was coming in, and who they were covering for. UNRWA provides cover for Hamas, UNRWA knows exactly what is happening underground, and UNRWA uses its budget to fund some of Hamas' military capabilities, this is for certain." The IDF said electrical cables leading from the UN building were providing power to the Hamas infrastructure belowground.