JERUSALEM, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Sunday to "dismantle" UNRWA after the aid agency found a Hamas tunnel under two of its schools in Gaza.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Friday that a tunnel was discovered under two schools in the al-Maghazi refugee camp near the city of Dir al-Balah.
On Sunday, Netanyahu, speaking at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, blamed Hamas for "using schoolchildren as a human shield."
He said that during his meeting with the United State Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley in Jerusalem last Wednesday, he told her that "it's time to dismantle UNRWA."
The tunnel was discovered during construction work, and UNRWA plans to seal it soon, the agency said in a statement.
UNRWA condemned the tunnel "in the strongest possible terms" and held Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls Gaza, accountable for its construction.
"It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way," the statement read. "The sanctity and neutrality of UN premises must be preserved at all times," it added.
The Palestinian enclave has been under a blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt, since 2007. Since then, numerous underground tunnels have been reportedly used to smuggle anything, from food to people and weapons, in and out of Gaza.
Israel said it discovered several "terror tunnels" that Hamas has planned to use to attack communities near the fence between the Strip and Israel.
In 2014, Israel's offensive in Gaza claimed the lives of at least 2,125 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 71 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Since then, sporadic hostilities continue but without escalating to a full-blown war.
