IDF soldiers recall risky raid on 14-story UNRWA building in Gaza used by Hamas terrorists

Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday provided details of a high-risk IDF operation targeting a 14-story UNRWA building in Gaza that Hamas terrorists had been using. The high-rise was located within a UNRWA facility in the coastal enclave.

Staff Sergeant C., a combat soldier in the IDF's Multidimensional Unit that carried out the raid, explained the importance of the operation.

"We placed enormous significance on this operation," the IDF soldier said. "We had a detailed battle plan supported by precise intelligence, and our goal was to track down Hamas leaders hiding inside."

The troops arrived in military vehicles and faced multiple threats, including Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and gunfire from the terrorists who were hiding inside the structure.

"The radio was reporting armed individuals in the vicinity," C. recalled. "We knew we were heading straight into a confrontation with the enemy, who was prepared and waiting for us."

Once the IDF troops reached the building, they faced blocked entrances.

"As the breacher, it’s my responsibility to clear the way for the team," C. explained.

A Hamas IED struck the IDF vehicle below, wounding several soldiers, just as soldiers reached the fifth floor,

Another staff sergeant, R. said the troops continued clearing the building up to the ninth floor.

"The building was enormous, and we worked floor by floor, systematically clearing each one," R. said. "We discovered large stockpiles of weapons, including grenades, IEDs, and equipment from Hamas’s naval commandos. Additionally, we found critical intelligence documents that further revealed the scale of the operation," he added.

C. revealed that the risky and difficult operation lasted for seven hours.

"We began at 2 a.m. and didn’t finish until 11 a.m.," he said. "No sleep, no food – just intense combat. But that’s the strength of this unit. We are trained to adapt and evolve in real-time, and that's what we did – staying focused, determined, and working as one team."

UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) was established in 1949 with the task of managing the Arab refugees from the Arab-Israeli War in 1948. While other UN refugee agencies completed their respective tasks years ago, critics have accused UNRWA of passing the refugee status from one generation to the next.

Today, the vast majority of residents in Gaza who are registered as Palestinian refugees were, in fact, in the coastal enclave. For example, the recently eliminated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, born in Gaza in 1962, was registered as a refugee even though he was born 13 years after the first Arab-Israeli war had ended in 1949.

UNRWA has had problematic ties with terrorism, with the IDF estimating that at least 10% of its employees are members of Hamas and other terrorist groups. Earlier this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for UNRWA to be dismantled.