Inquiry says Israel fired on seven UN Gaza schools in 2014 war

Israel fired on seven United Nations schools during the 2014 Gaza war, killing 44 Palestinians who had sought shelter at some sites, while Palestinian militants hid weapons and launched attacks from several empty U.N. schools, a U.N. inquiry found. The U.N. Security Council is due to discuss the report on Tuesday, diplomats said. More than 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed during the Gaza conflict last July and August. Sixty-seven Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed by rockets and attacks by Hamas and other militant groups.

I am dismayed that Palestinian militant groups would put United Nations schools at risk by using them to hide their arms.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that dominates Gaza, said they would cooperate with the inquiry, launched by Ban in October and headed by retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement that all the incidents in the report attributed to Israel had been “subject to thorough examinations and criminal investigations have been launched where relevant.”

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