JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel fired on seven United Nations schools and Hamas hid weapons in at least three empty U.N. buildings during Israel’s operation in Gaza in 2014, according to an inquiry.
Some 44 Palestinians sheltering in the U.N. schools bombed by the Israelis were killed and Hamas also fired at Israel from United Nations buildings, the U.N. inquiry found, according to a summary released Monday.
More than 200 pages, the full report on the incidents during last summer’s 50-day operation, dubbed Protective Edge, is considered top secret and will not be released.
Israel has investigated all seven incidents in which it was cited in the report and cooperated in the investigation, Haaretz reported. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it would study the report’s findings and work with the United Nations to improve the security of U.N. buildings in Gaza.
The inquiry led by Patrick Cammaert, a retired Dutch general and former force commander of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, looked at 10 incidents involving U.N. property. The investigation was ordered in November by the world body’s secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon.
“United Nations premises are inviolable and should be places of safety, particularly in a situation of armed conflict,” Ban wrote in a cover letter accompanying the summary, according to reports. “I will work with all concerned and spare no effort to ensure that such incidents will never be repeated.”
The inquiry’s recommendations will be explored, he said.
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