United Nations to inquire into Gaza conflict

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that he is setting up an independent investigation into attacks on UN facilities during Israel’s recent offensive in Gaza.

The inquiry board will also investigate the reported use of UN facilities by Palestinian armed groups like Hamas to store weapons.

Ki-moon was speaking at a UN Security Council on Tuesday, following his recent visit to Gaza including to the Jabaila refugee camp, which Palestinians had used as refuge during the conflict.

Around 2,100 Palestinians were killed in the recent conflict, most of which were civilians. 67 Israeli soldiers and six Israeli civilians were also killed.

Israel says that Hamas had used its civilians as ‘human shields’ by launching attacks from residential areas, including schools and mosques, prompting Israel to return fire.

In one particular incident, an Israeli offensive on Gaza reportedly killed over a dozen Palestinian civilians sheltering inside a UN-run school.

“I look forward to a thorough investigation by the Israel Defence Forces of incidents in which UN facilities sustained hits and many innocent people were killed,” Ki-moon said. “I am planning to move forward with an independent board of inquiry to look into the most serious of those cases, as well as instances in which weaponry was found on UN premises.”

He added that “the clock is ticking” for humanitarian aid to rebuild parts of Gaza as winter approachecd.

Israel launched its offensive on Gaza on 8 July. It said that they did so to stop militants such as Hamas from firing rockets and mortars into Israel. On 26 August, both sides agreed to an open-ended truce that has held so far. Last month, Israel ordered its own investigations into the offensive, including a criminal investigation into five incidents in which Palestinian civilians were reported to have died