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2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters

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The 2014 Israeli raids on UNRWA schools were seven attacks at UNRWA facilities in Gaza Strip during 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, which were being used as shelters for Palestinians. At least 46 civilians, including 10 UN staff have been killed in these attacks. In one case, Israel's investigation concluded that only one shell landed in the school compound which was empty at the time; UNRWA has rejected this account, stating that more shells landed after the first one. Reporters visiting the area shortly after stated that the damage was consistent with mortar rounds.

On 16 July[1] (prior to any of the Israeli attacks on UNRWA schools), 22 July[2] and on 29 July, UNRWA announced that rockets had been found in their schools although all of these schools were vacant at the time.[3][undue weight? – discuss]

Background

File:Israeli phosphorus-shelling school 2009.jpeg
Israel used white phosphorus against civilians in an United Nations school, Beit Lahiya, 17 January 2009[4]

Since the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza, Palestinian groups in Gaza have launched rockets into Israel as part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, including the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Through the years, Israel has accused Hamas of launching rockets at Israeli civilians from schools, residential buildings, mosques and hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is accused of using civilians as a human shield.[5] Israel asserts that it does not attack civilians and tries to avoid civilian casualties,[5] for example by phone messages and dropping leaflets, or by using the technique of roof knocking to warn citizens to evacuate their homes. However, this can also have the effect of worsening the situation, when many of these people have nowhere to go, forcing them into crowded schools used as shelters.[6] Israel has justified attacks on civilian objects in Gaza to stop the Palestinian rocket attacks and accepts as inevitable that there will be civilian casualties when it strikes targets like Hamas members in their houses, or offices, or mosques.[5]

During the 2008–09 Gaza War, Israel shelled several schools. Among them were the Boys School in Beit Lahiya,[7][8] the Asma Elementary School in Gaza City,[9] the al-Fakhura school in Jabalia and a school in Khan Younis,[10] which were run by the United Nations and were shelters for displaced persons.[11] Chris Gunness, a spokesman for UNRWA, claimed that he believed it to be phosphorus, which was later supported by investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.[12][13][14]

Within the Gaza Strip there are more than 80 schools[15] of the 252[16] run by the UNWRA. In addition, over 5,000 homes have been destroyed and 30,000 other damaged by the IDF.[17] A total of 460,000 Palestinians have been displaced due to these factors, since the beginning of the current conflict.[18] A projected 200,000 Palestinian civilians have sought shelter in the schools, since they do not have alternative options.[19]

Other UNRWA incidents.

During the 2014 conflict there were several other incidents involving UNRWA facilities.

On 16 July[20] 22 July[21] and on 29 July, the UNRWA announced that rockets had been found in their schools although all of these schools were vacant at the time.[22] UNRWA denounced the actions as "flagrant violations of its neutrality".

Later, a booby-trapped building with an UNRWA Health Clinic sign, was detonated killing three IDF soldiers inside.[23]

Schools hit

Maghazi Preparatory Girls School A & B

On 21 July 2014, UNRWA’s Maghazi Preparatory Girls School, in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, was hit.[24] The UNRWA stated that the explosives were believed to have been fired by Israeli forces.[25] The school was sheltering approximately 300 displaced Palestinians.[25] One child was injured in the shelling incident.[25] UNRWA's preliminary investigation indicated that the school was shelled by the Israel Defense Forces.[24]

On 22 July 2014, while UNRWA officials were investigating the 21 July attack, the school was shelled again. The school was struck during the time that had been coordinated with Israeli authorities and the UN, to allow freedom of movement for the relevant UN personnel.[25] Israel confirmed that their amunition did hit the facility, however placed the blame on Hamas for their militants operating in civilian areas.[26]

Deir El Balah Preparatory Girls School C

On 23 July 2014, Deir El Balah Preparatory Girls School C was shelled.[24] The school was sheltering 1,500 Palestinians at the time it was hit.[24] UNRWA's preliminary investigation indicated that the school was shelled by the Israel Defense Forces.[24]

Beit Hanoun Elementary Co-ed School A & D

An UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun, sheltering 800 people,[27] was struck on 24 July resulting in 11 being killed, including 7 children and two women,[28] and UN staff member.[29] Additionally, 110 were wounded, including 55 children and 31 women.[30]

A senior Israel military officer initially stated that the school shelling could have been caused by Israeli forces.[31] Several other Gaza rockets have landed in Beit Hanoun and the IDF had not ruled out one of these rockets landing on the school.[32]

Gaza authorities however said that the school was shelled by Israeli forces.[33] Additionally, both the UN and Fatah stated that they were investigating the incident and was unaware of who struck the school.[34]

The IDF on 27 July announced that they had concluded their investigation into the UNRWA deaths. They stated that one IDF mortar bomb had landed in a courtyard of the school but caused no injuries, and that the damage that caused the casualties was not caused by the IDF and UNRWA confirmed rockets fired by Hamas landed in the area.[35] The UN stated that they will be conducting their own investigation as well.[36]

UNRWA rejected the IDF's account, and stated that the initial shell that struck the school was followed by several others within minutes.[37] UNRWA's preliminary investigation indicated that the school was shelled by the Israel Defense Forces.[24]

Reporters who visited the school shortly after the attack said that the damage and debris that they observed was consistent with mortar rounds.[37]

Zaitoun Preparatory Girls School B

On 29 July 2014, Zaitoun Preparatory Girls School B was shelled.[24] The school sheltered almost 2,200 internally displaced persons.[24] UNRWA's preliminary investigation indicated that the school was shelled by the Israel Defense Forces.[24]

Jabalia Elementary Girls School A & B

In the morning of 29 July, the UNRWA Elementary Girls School in Jabalia was hit overnight[38][39][40] resulting in 20 Palestinian deaths. Israel acknowledged that one of their rockets hit the school when they were returning fire after being shot at from the vicinity of the school.[41] The UNRWA stated that Israel had been informed 17 times of the shelter's location, in order to avoid it.[39]

Rafah Preparatory A Boys School

At 10:50 in the morning of 3 August, an UNRWA school sheltering around 3000 Palestinian civilians in Rafah was hit by a shell, killing at least 10 people.[42] Palestine Red Crescent Society announced the attack occurred while people were in line to get food from aid workers.[43] Robert Turner, director of operations for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza, said the strike killed at least one UN staffer.[44] The attack was condemned by UN and US.[45] After the attack, Israel declared a seven-hour truce in most of Gaza, which Hamas called it "unilateral" and aimed "to divert attention away from the Israeli massacres".[46]

Table

# School Date Killed Wounded Place
1 Maghazi Preparatory Girls School A & B 21 July 2014[24][25] Maghazi Camp
2 Maghazi Preparatory Girls School A & B 22 July 2014[25] – 1[25] Maghazi Camp
3 Deir El Balah Preparatory Girls School C 23 July 2014[24] – 5[47] Deir al-Balah[47]
4 Beit Hanoun Elementary Co-ed School A & D 24 July 2014 15[48] 200[49] Beit Hanoun
5 Zaitoun Preparatory Girls School B 29 July 2014.[24] Zeitoun
6 Jabalia Elementary Girls School A & B 29 July 2014[38][39] 20[50] 100+[51][52][53] Jabalia Camp
7 Rafah Preparatory A Boys School[54] 3 August 2014 at least 10[42] 35[55] Rafah
Total 46+ civilians, 10+ UN staff members 341+ civilians

War crimes

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on 31 July 2014 said that both Hamas militants and Israel might have committed war crimes. The Palestinian militants by placing and firing rockets within heavily populated areas, and Israel by attacking civilian areas with schools, hospitals, homes and UN facilities, are committing "a violation of international humanitarian law, therefore a war crime", Pillay said.[56]

Reactions

  •  UN – Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of United Nations, condemned the Jubalia Camp incident at the school, describing it as "unjustifiable".[57] After the 29 July incident, he pointed out that the precise location of this school had been communicated to the Israeli military authorities 17 times. He said: "Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children"[58] Ban Ki-moon described the attack on Rafah school as a "moral outrage and a criminal act" and called for those responsible for the "gross violation of international humanitarian law" to be held accountable.[59]
    •  UNRWA - Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner-General of the UNRWA, said: "Our shelters are overflowing. Tens of thousands may soon be stranded in the streets of Gaza, without food, water and shelter if attacks on these areas continue."[60] "We have moved beyond what humanitarian action alone can deal with. This is now the time for political action. It is the time for accountability," he said. Krähenbühl described the Jubalia Camp incident as "probably one of the most tragic protection failures that the international community has witnessed." Asked to explain the scale of the civilian suffering to an Arab news station, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness simply burst into tears. "We have reached breaking point; our staff are being killed, our shelters overflowing", he adds.[61]
  •  USA - A White House spokesman, said: "We are extremely concerned that thousands of internally displaced Palestinians who have been called on by the Israeli military to evacuate their homes are not safe in UN-designated shelters in Gaza." They continued by condemning "those responsible for hiding weapons in United Nations facilities in Gaza."[62] US State Department said in a statement that the US is "appalled" by the "disgraceful shelling" outside the school in Rafah and urged Israel to do more to avoid civilian casualties.[59]
  •  France - Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israeli military attack that rocked a United Nations school in Jubalia in Gaza's biggest refugee camp.[63]

References

  1. ^ "Strongly Condemns Placement of Rockets in School" (Press release). UNRWA. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Condemns Placement of Rockets, for a Second Time, in One of Its Schools". UNRWA. 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  3. ^ By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell (2014-07-29). "Carnage at U.N. school as Israel pounds Gaza Strip". Reuters. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  4. ^ Rain of Fire Human Rights Watch
  5. ^ a b c Israel Says That Hamas Uses Civilian Shields, Reviving Debate. ANNE BARNARD and JODI RUDOREN, New York Times, 23 July 2014
  6. ^ "Israeli military's 'knock on roof' warnings criticized". CNN.com. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  7. ^ UN school attacked; civilians left to bleed to death. Al Mezan Center For Human Rights, 17 January 2009
  8. ^ Gaza crisis: key maps and timeline. BBC, 18 January 2009
  9. ^ Gaza's day of carnage - 40 dead as Israelis bomb two UN schools. Chris McGreal and Hazem Balousha, The Guardian, 7 January 2009,
  10. ^ IDF: Mortars fired from bombed school. Ynet, 6 January 2009
  11. ^ Israel OK's Gaza "Humanitarian Corridor" CBS News
  12. ^ Israeli Shells Hit UN Compound in Gaza Deutsche Welle
  13. ^ McCarthy, Rory (25 March 2009). "Israel accused of indiscriminate phosphorus use in Gaza". The Guardian.
  14. ^ "Israel used white phosphorus in Gaza civilian areas". Amnesty International. 19 January 2009.
  15. ^ "Israeli fire kills nineteen in Gaza UN school - Middle East". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  16. ^ "Where We Work". UNRWA. 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  17. ^ "5235 Gaza homes destroyed by Israel | MidEast". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  18. ^ "Gaza Situation Report 24". UNRWA. 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  19. ^ "'World stands disgraced': 20 killed in Israeli UN school shelling — RT News". Rt.com. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  20. ^ "Strongly Condemns Placement of Rockets in School" (Press release). UNRWA. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  21. ^ "Condemns Placement of Rockets, for a Second Time, in One of Its Schools". UNRWA. 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  22. ^ By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell (2014-07-29). "Carnage at U.N. school as Israel pounds Gaza Strip". Reuters. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  23. ^ http://www.timesofisrael.com/3-idf-soldiers-killed-in-booby-trapped-unrwa-clinic/
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gaza Situation Report 27 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. 4 August 2014. Accessed 7 August 2014
  25. ^ a b c d e f g UNRWA strongly condemns shelling of a school in Gaza sheltering civilians and calls for an investigation. UNRWA, 22 July 2014
  26. ^ Tuesday 22 July 2014 18:13 BST (2014-07-22). "Gaza's humanitarian situation worsens as Egypt continues Rafah stranglehold". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2014-08-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ "Palestinians say they were waiting to evacuate when UN shelter was hit". LA Times. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  28. ^ "Palestinian Center for Human Rights". Pchrgaza.org. 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  29. ^ "UN school in Gaza caught in cross-fire; 15 killed". US News. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  30. ^ "BBC News - Gaza UN school shelter hit, 'killing 13'". Bbc.com. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  31. ^ "Israel's 'errant fire could have caused school shelling' - ITV News". Itv.com. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  32. ^ Arens, Moshe (2014-07-24). "Source of deadly attack on Gaza UNRWA school remains unclear - Diplomacy and Defense Israel News". Haaretz. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  33. ^ Reuters  — By IBRAHIM BARZAK and PETER ENAV (2014-07-24). "UN School In Gaza Hit By Shells, At Least 15 Dead (UPDATED)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-08-02. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  34. ^ Lappin, Yaakov (2014-07-24). "IDF: Terrorists opened fire from vicinity of UN-run Gaza school | JPost | Israel News". JPost. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  35. ^ "Israel Says Deaths in UNRWA School Were Not Caused by Israeli Fire | Jewish & Israel News". Algemeiner.com. 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  36. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/27/world/meast/mideast-crisis/
  37. ^ a b Sherwood, Harriet; Balousha, Hazem (31 July 2014). "'The world stands disgraced' – Israeli shelling of school kills at least 15". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  38. ^ a b UNRWA Strongly Condemns Israeli Shelling of Its School in Gaza as a Serious Violation of International Law. UNRWA, 30 July 2014
  39. ^ a b c No Sanctuary in Gaza. UNWRA, 5 August 2014
  40. ^ Gaza situation report 22. UNWRA, 30 July 2014
  41. ^ http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Rockets-found-at-UNRWA-school-for-third-time-369358
  42. ^ a b UN voices outrage over Gaza school strike. Al Jazeera, 4 August 2014
  43. ^ Gaza militant leader dies in strike Press Association. 4 August 2014. Accessed 7 August 2014
  44. ^ Israel withdraws most troops from Gaza Associated Press
  45. ^ State Department Condemns 'Disgraceful' Shelling Of U.N. School In Gaza AP/The Huffington Post. 3 August 2014. Accessed 7 August 2014
  46. ^ Partial Israeli-declared ceasefire under way in Gaza Deutsche Welle. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2014
  47. ^ a b Gaza crisis: UN claims Israel did not allow evacuation from shelter before strikes - as it happened The Guardian. 24 July 2014. Accessed 7 August 2014
  48. ^ ‘Appalled’ by attack on UN-run school in Gaza, Ban urges halt to all fighting United Nations News Centre
  49. ^ 15 killed as Israel bombs UN school in Gaza, three shot dead at West Bank protest RTÉ.ie
  50. ^ United Nations secretary general rips Israel for attacking school that sheltered Gaza refugees, killing 20 Daily News
  51. ^ Israeli shells hit second UN school sheltering Gaza refugees Aljazeera
  52. ^ Israeli airstrike on Gaza market kills 17 and injures more than 150 shortly after four-hour ceasefire was declared, July 30th 2014, Daily Mail
  53. ^ UN: 'world stands disgraced' as shelter for Gaza children is shelled by Israel, 30 July 2014, The Guardian
  54. ^ Ban ki-Moon declares Israeli attack on UN school ‘a criminal act’ The Independent. 3 August 2014. Accessed 7 August 2014
  55. ^ UN Chief: Attack At School In Gaza 'Criminal Act' WBUR-FM
  56. ^ Gaza conflict: Israel, Hamas both committing war crimes, UN official says Associated Press, 31 July 2014
  57. ^ U.S., U.N. slam Israel over Gaza school attack Al Arabiya
  58. ^ US and UN condemn school shelling BBC
  59. ^ a b al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Williams, Dan (3 August 2014). "Censured over shelter deaths, Israel declares seven-hour Gaza truce". Reuters. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  60. ^ Israel-Gaza conflict - live The Daily Telegraph
  61. ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Browning, Noah (31 July 2014). "Under fire and out of cash, U.N. overwhelmed by Gaza crisis". Reuters. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  62. ^ U.S. condemns shelling of U.N. school in Gaza Washington Times
  63. ^ France condemns Israeli shelling on UN school in Gaza Xinhua
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