Gaza: UN says gunmen were filmed in abandoned Rafah aid warehouse

Unrwa’s communications director, Juliette Touma, told BBC News the agency was unable to verify the authenticity or the content of the footage, and that it did not have any information on the timing or exact location.

She stressed that UN staff had evacuated the compound prior to Saturday, leaving behind some vehicles and food aid. She said under no circumstances should anyone have or use weapons in a UN facility.

Israel has previously accused Unrwa workers of being members of Hamas and participating in the 7 October attacks on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. A UN-commissioned review found Israel had failed to provide evidence to back up the claim.

The drone footage released by the IDF on Tuesday is in three parts.

BBC News has verified that it does show an Unrwa food distribution warehouse in eastern Rafah. It has not been possible to verify that the footage was filmed on Saturday.

The first piece of drone footage shows three men dressed in black, with weapons slung over their shoulders, standing between two white cars with UN markings.

In the second, a man is seen passing a weapon – a rifle – through the window of a white, unmarked pickup truck parked next to a large building with UN markings on its roof.

The third piece shows a figure in black chasing people from the compound at gunpoint and gesturing them away.

From the 49 seconds of released footage, it is not possible to confirm whether weapons were fired, as claimed by the IDF.

The IDF has presented this video as evidence of UN complicity with Hamas, and it has been seized upon by some of Israel’s supporters and critics of the UN.

IDF spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner posted the footage on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “The UN needs to answer some serious questions. Imagine what would’ve happened if we were to target them? The hypocrisy is astounding.”

He said that, in his view, “the warehouse was not being evacuated” and that Hamas was “strutting around like they own the place”.

He added: “Unrwa pledges neutrality, no weapons allowed on their sites. There is nothing neutral about Hamas gunmen with their pickups and AK-47 on the UN premises.”

Unrwa’s assertion that its staff had already left the compound leaves open the possibility others had moved in to make use of the abandoned buildings and vehicles.

BBC News has approached the IDF for a response but is yet to hear back.