UN: Israel killed Palestinians at Gaza schools

A United Nations inquiry has found that at least 44 Palestinians were killed and around 227 injured by direct mortar strikes and other "Israeli actions" while sheltering at UN locations during last year attack on Gaza.

The Palestinians said they would give the findings to the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

"I deplore the fact that at least 44 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli actions and at least 227 injured at United Nations premises being used as emergency shelters," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a letter to the UN Security Council. 

"It is a matter of the utmost gravity that those who looked to them for protection and who sought and were granted shelter there had their hopes and trust denied." 

The board of inquiry investigated the attacks on the schools run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from 8 July to 26 August last year, but it also shed light on the discovery of weapons caches at three schools. 

The schools were vacant at the time but Ban noted that "the fact that they were used by those involved in the fighting to store their weaponry and, in two cases, probably to fire from, is unacceptable."  

It is a matter of the utmost gravity that those who looked to them for protection had their hopes and trust denied - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The UN chief urged Palestinian authorities to investigate.  

The Israeli war on Gaza ended with an Egyptian-brokered truce after about 2,200 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and 73 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed. 

UN spokesman Farhan Haq declined to comment on whether the findings of the report would be taken up by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which the Palestinians have joined.   

"It's not our business to determine what cases the international court takes up," he said.  

Hamas said the report was important since it proved Israeli "war crimes against Palestinian civilians in the (UNRWA) shelters."  

"We call on the world to send the murderous occupation (Israel) leaders to international courts, and we call on the (Palestinian) Authority to investigate this report and to persecute the occupation (Israel) in international courts," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.  

The movement that rules Gaza de facto also rejected the notion that three facilities were used as weapon caches.  

"We deny having any information about any weapons in the three UNRWA schools, which were empty from refugees, according to the report," Abu Zuhri said.  

Ban said he had set up an ad hoc group of senior UN officials to advise him on possible future courses of action.