UNRWA Gaza office targeted in 2 explosions

Two explosions targeted the offices of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA in Gaza City on Saturday night. There were no casualties in the blasts, according to UNRWA and Gaza security officials.

“A bomb exploded near the outer wall of the headquarters of UNRWA in Gaza, about ten feet from the door, causing no casualties or damage,” an agency spokesperson, Adnan Abu Hasna, told AFP.

The security services of Hamas, which rules Gaza, said an investigation had been opened after the explosion of two homemade devices, “which caused limited damage and no casualties.”

The explosions come on the eve of a scheduled visit by the West Bank-based unity government to the Gaza Strip.

Small explosive devices regularly shake various areas of the narrow Palestinian enclave, targeting politicians, Palestinian Authority President (and rival Fatah chief) Mahmoud Abbas as well as the Islamist Hamas. In December, explosions targeted the French Cultural Center, the most visible foreign presence in Gaza.

Violence has been on the rise since the summer 2014 war between Israel and Hamas.

The latest explosion has not yet been claimed by any faction, but experts fear it marks a further deterioration in Gaza’s security situation.