2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters information
UNRWA school being used as shelter, July 2014
The 2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters were seven shellings at UNRWA facilities in the Gaza Strip which took place between 21 July and 3 August 2014 during the Israeli-Gaza conflict. The incidents were the result of artillery, mortar or aerial missile fire which struck on or near the UNRWA facilities being used as shelters for Palestinians, and as a result at least 44 civilians, including 10 UN staff, died. During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, many Palestinians fled their homes after warnings by Israel or due to air strikes or fighting in the area. An estimated 290,000 people (15% of Gaza's population) took shelter in UNRWA schools.
On three separate occasions, on 16 July,[1] 22 July[2] and on 29 July, UNRWA announced that rockets had been found in their schools.[3] UNRWA denounced the groups responsible for "flagrant violations of the neutrality of its premises". All of these schools were vacant at the time when rockets were discovered; no rockets were found in any shelters which were shelled. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that "Hamas chooses where these battles are conducted and, despite Israel's best efforts to prevent civilian casualties, Hamas is ultimately responsible for the tragic loss of civilian life. Specifically in the case of UN facilities, it is important to note the repeated abuse of UN facilities by Hamas, namely with at least three cases of munitions storage within such facilities."[4]
The attacks were condemned by members of the UN (UNRWA's parent organization) and other governments, such as the U.S., have expressed "extreme concern" over the safety of Palestinian civilians who "are not safe in UN-designated shelters."[4] The Rafah shelling in particular was widely criticized, with Ban Ki-moon calling it a "moral outrage and a criminal act" and US State Department calling it "appalling" and "disgraceful". UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that both Hamas militants and Israel might have committed war crimes. A Human Rights Watch investigation into three of the incidents concluded that Israel committed war crimes because two of the shellings "did not appear to target a military objective or were otherwise indiscriminate", while the third Rafah shelling was "unlawfully disproportionate".[5] On 27 April 2015, the United Nations released an inquiry which concluded that Israel was responsible for the deaths of at least 44 Palestinians who died in the shelling and 227 were injured.[6]
^"Strongly Condemns Placement of Rockets in School" (Press release). UNRWA. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
^"Condemns Placement of Rockets, for a Second Time, in One of Its Schools". UNRWA. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
^Nidal al-Mughrabi; Maayan Lubell (29 July 2014). "Carnage at U.N. school as Israel pounds Gaza Strip". Reuters. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
^ abGaza crisis: a closer look at Israeli strikes on UNRWA schools, Raya Jalabi, Tom McCarthy, Nadja Popovich, 8 August 2014, The Guardian
^"Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes in Gaza". Reuters. Jerusalem. 11 September 2014.
^Westcott (27 April 2015). "United Nations: Israel Responsible for Deaths at Gaza Schools". Newsweek. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
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