UN: Israeli military killed 44 Palestinians at UN shelters

[Luiz 4,253]

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. inquiry has found that at least 44 Palestinians were killed and at least 227 injured by direct mortar strikes and other "Israeli actions" while sheltering at U.N. locations during last year's Gaza war. The Palestinians said they would give the findings to the International Criminal Court.

The independent board of inquiry also said that Palestinian militant groups hid weapons at three empty U.N. schools in Gaza and that in two cases Palestinian militants "probably" fired from the schools.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday that he deplores the deaths, calling U.N. locations "inviolable." Ban also said the Palestinian militants' use of them was "unacceptable."

The 2014 war was the most devastating for Gaza's 1.8 million people, killing more than 2,200 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, according to U.N. figures. Seventy-two people were killed on the Israeli side, including 66 soldiers.

In one case, the new inquiry says, a U.N. girls' school was hit by 88 mortar rounds fired by the Israeli Defense Forces. In another case, another girls' school was hit by direct fire from the IDF with an anti-tank projectile. A third girls' school was hit by an IDF missile.

At a coed college, one block was damaged by a projectile fired by an Israeli tank.

On July 30, Israeli strikes tore through the walls of the Jebaliya Elementary girls' school, which was crowded with sleeping war refugees. Some 3,000 Gazans had sought refuge there. A series of Israeli artillery shells hit before daybreak. A classroom became a scene of bloodied clothing, bedding and debris. The inquiry says 17 or 18 people were killed, including a U.N. staff member and two of his sons.

"No prior warning had been given by the government of Israel of the firing of 155 MM high explosive projectiles on, or in the surrounding area of the school," the inquiry says.

A spokesman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said in a statement, "The inquiry found that despite numerous notifications to the Israeli army of the precise GPS coordinates of the schools and numerous notifications about the presence of displaced people, in all seven cases investigated by the Board of Inquiry when our schools were hit directly or in the immediate vicinity, the hit was attributable to the IDF."

Spokesman Chris Gunness added, "In none of the schools which were hit directly or in the immediate vicinity, were weapons discovered or fired from."

The inquiry also found weak security at the U.N. schools where weapons were found. It said in two cases that a "Palestinian armed group" likely fired from two of the schools.

The U.N. released its summary of the report but said the full 207-page report is private. The inquiry looked at 10 incidents. Ban's statement stressed that the board of inquiry "does not make legal findings" and was not tasked with addressing the wider issues of the Gaza war.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said, "We will take the report and will present to the International Criminal Court, especially that they are looking these days at our request to do a preliminary study." The Palestinian Authority became a member of the court this month in an effort to pressure Israel..

Malki also praised the U.N. for releasing the report after a delay, saying he had been worried that Israel was trying to suppress it.

In a statement, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said, "All of the incidents attributed by the report to Israel have already been subject to thorough examinations, and criminal investigations have been launched where relevant. ... Israel makes every effort to avoid harm to sensitive sites."

Nahshon's statement added, "The executive summary of the report clearly documents the exploitation by terrorist organizations of U.N. facilities in the Gaza Strip."

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules Gaza, said the U.N. report was a "clear condemnation" of Israel. On reports that militants used U.N. schools to store weapons he said: "Hamas has no information about this."

http://news.yahoo.com/un-israeli-actions-killed-44-palestinians-un-shelters-162503602.html

[Jjang 2,262]

Rest in power.

[hmm 979]

This is probably gonna turn into a very heated thread  

As much as Israel's war crimes are appalling, taking it to the ICC won't really solve anything imo  Palestine's ratification to the Rome statutes further legitimises its statehood so surely that's the main benefit from that  

[Didymus 34,380]

Ugh, finally some action. I hope this doesn't get blocked by Iz again.

[Dann 354]

They are protecting the country from evil insane UNhumans, So that's has the right every so.

[Didymus 34,380]

They are protecting the country from evil insane UNhumans, So that's has the right every so.

​I don't get it, since you wrote that so horribly, but if I think I got it, it still doesn't make sense. Israeli forces knew exactly where these UN shelters were and that innocent civilians were hiding there. The attack was on purpose, beyond any question. The "but Hamas militants have taken over these UN areas" excuse is useless in these cases except if Israel believes the UN actively covers for Hamas militants, which is absurd.

But I dunno, just expand a bit pls.

[Ronlop 6,882]

​I don't get it, since you wrote that so horribly, but if I think I got it, it still doesn't make sense. Israeli forces knew exactly where these UN shelters were and that innocent civilians were hiding there. The attack was on purpose, beyond any question. The "but Hamas militants have taken over these UN areas" excuse is useless in these cases except if Israel believes the UN actively covers for Hamas militants, which is absurd.

But I dunno, just expand a bit pls.

​There were dozens of confirmed cases (which I've sent you in the past personally actually) where the Hamas took over the UN ambulances, buildings, schools and what not. Not the first time so let's not. 

But hey, it's another Anti-Israel thread so I'm not surprised by the comments here  

[daviddarko 144]

good

[BULATIO 1,635]

mess 

[AlphaMonster 1,806]

​There were dozens of confirmed cases (which I've sent you in the past personally actually) where the Hamas took over the UN ambulances, buildings, schools and what not. Not the first time so let's not. 

But hey, it's another Anti-Israel thread so I'm not surprised by the comments here  

​Is it a good reason to kill civilians for you ? 

There is no anti-semitism at all here, but there is a direct hate towards mostly muslim populated countries. Do not take it personal please, I am using your post to make a point.

Also:

I laugh at the stupidity of people who think that Turks are evil, because Ottoman Empire killed armenians who were sabotaging Ottoman Armies during WW1 for their separatist purposes. While they think Israel can kill civilians because Hamas uses them as human shield...

PS: No, I am not muslim; I am atheist. In addition, if I was from Israel, I would want Israel to bomb critical places where Hamas places civilians as human shield to protect...

 

[Melech 9,900]

​Is it a good reason to kill civilians for you ? 

There is no anti-semitism at all here, but there is a direct hate towards mostly muslim populated countries. Do not take it personal please, I am using your post to make a point.

Also:

I laugh at the stupidity of people who think that Turks are evil, because Ottoman Empire killed armenians who were sabotaging Ottoman Armies during WW1 for their separatist purposes. While they think Israel can kill civilians because Hamas uses them as human shield...

PS: No, I am not muslim; I am atheist. In addition, if I was from Israel, I would want Israel to bomb critical places where Hamas places civilians as human shield to protect...

 

​you must be new here. 

[Didymus 34,380]

​There were dozens of confirmed cases (which I've sent you in the past personally actually) where the Hamas took over the UN ambulances, buildings, schools and what not. Not the first time so let's not. 

But hey, it's another Anti-Israel thread so I'm not surprised by the comments here  

​I know that And I even acknowledged that (so does the article btw, so how is this an anti-Israel thread? I guess you didn't even read it through), the difference lies in that the UN itself gave the exact coordinates for the UN schools that were used by the UN as shelters for hundreds of civilians (the only schools where weapons were found were abandoned). And, like previous media investigations showed, the study concludes that these particular shelters had no weapons and were not infiltrated by Hamas.

[Jjang 2,262]

good

​& you had the nerve to call me disgusting.

[Dolev 867]

​Is it a good reason to kill civilians for you ? 

There is no anti-semitism at all here, but there is a direct hate towards mostly muslim populated countries. Do not take it personal please, I am using your post to make a point.

Also:

I laugh at the stupidity of people who think that Turks are evil, because Ottoman Empire killed armenians who were sabotaging Ottoman Armies during WW1 for their separatist purposes. While they think Israel can kill civilians because Hamas uses them as human shield...

PS: No, I am not muslim; I am atheist. In addition, if I was from Israel, I would want Israel to bomb critical places where Hamas places civilians as human shield to protect...

 

​The NERVE to compare the Armenian genocide with Israel handling Terror inside civilian population. 

[Dolev 867]

Shared this video and I'll share it again. UN is a joke.