Palestinians killed whilst sheltering in UN sites in Gaza, say investigators

At least 44 Palestinians were killed and over 200 injured while they were sheltering in UN locations, investigators have said. 

The findings, based on the result of Israeli action during the most recent war in Gaza, also determined that militants hid weapons at three empty UN schools, from where they “probably” fired.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week said that Israel’s attacks on UN locations, which he said must be “inviolable,” but he also criticised Palestinian militants’ use of bases as “unacceptable”.

The 2014 war killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and saw a UN girls’ school hit by 88 IDF mortar rounds. Another girls’ school was targeted with an anti-tank projectile and a third by an IDF missile. 

A UN statement said seven schools were hit “despite numerous notifications to the Israeli army of the precise GPS co-ordinates of the schools and numerous notifications about the presence of displaced people”. 

UN spokesman Chris Gunness said: “In none of the schools which were hit directly or in the immediate vicinity, were weapons discovered or fired from.” 

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said: “Criminal investigations have been launched where relevant. … Israel makes every effort to avoid harm to sensitive sites.”

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