07-24-2014, 03:28 PM
I don't know what Netanyahu was thinking if this was an Israeli hit, at this target (which reportedly included UN staff), at this time...
![[Image: f5d40ecd-c6a7-418c-8f13-0c2cb7e9bb68-300x180.jpeg]](https://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/24/1406183746631/f5d40ecd-c6a7-418c-8f13-0c2cb7e9bb68-300x180.jpeg)
Snip:
Gazan authorities said Israeli forces shelled a shelter at a U.N.-run school on Thursday, killing at least 15 people as the Palestinian death toll in the conflict climbed over 750 and attempts at a truce remained elusive.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his horror at the attack on the school at Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza strip. "Many have been killed - including women and children, as well as U.N. staff," he said in a statement. "Circumstances are still unclear. I strongly condemn this act."
The Israeli military said its troops were fighting gunmen from Hamas, which runs Gaza, in the area and that it was investigating the incident. A spokesman for the U.N. relief agency said it had tried in vain to arrange an evacuation of civilians from the school with the Israeli army, and noted reports of Hamas rockets falling in the area at the same time.
Pools of blood lay on the ground and on students' desks in the courtyard of the school near the apparent impact mark of the shell, according to a Reuters photographer at the scene.
Laila Al-Shinbari, a woman who was at the school when it was shelled, told Reuters that families had gathered in the courtyard expecting to be evacuated shortly in a Red Cross convoy.
"All of us sat in one place when suddenly four shells landed on our heads ... Bodies were on the ground, (there was) blood and screams. My son is dead and all my relatives are wounded including my other kids," she wept.
An Israeli military source however told Al Jazeera that Palestinian rocket fire had been detected in the area and that the rocket fire might have fallen short and hit the shelter.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Chris Gunness, the spokesman for UNRWA, the UN's humanitarian organisation in Gaza, said his organisation had been in contact with Israeli forces as fighting closed in on the shelter.
"We gave the Israelis the precise GPS coordinates of the Beit Hanoun shelter. We were trying to coordinate a window [for evacuation] and that was never granted."
Robert Turner, the director for UNRWA told Al Jazeera there was no warning from the Israelis before the shells landed.
"This is a designated emergency shelter. The location was conveyed to the Israelis," he said. "This was an installation we were managing, that was monitored [to ensure] that our neutrality was maintained. We always call on all parties to ensure that civilians are not harmed."
Israel has attacked UN schools before, saying that they were being used as safe havens for the armed Palestinians. The UN has also previously criticised the Palestinian groups for using UN schools to hide fighters and weapons.
Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast...90287.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24...16956.html
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Even if Hamas was in the area and luring, this shelter should not have been targeted, IMO. If it's proven that Israeli forces are responsible, it only hurts Israel's credibility and helps Hamas propagate its claims/cause. The civilians and the UN workers are real victims in this attack, regardless of anything else.
The UN announced two days ago that Israel was committing possible war crimes. If Israeli forces took out this shelter/school, for any reason, I think it was a very bad strategic move; difficult to justify.
Snip:
Gazan authorities said Israeli forces shelled a shelter at a U.N.-run school on Thursday, killing at least 15 people as the Palestinian death toll in the conflict climbed over 750 and attempts at a truce remained elusive.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his horror at the attack on the school at Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza strip. "Many have been killed - including women and children, as well as U.N. staff," he said in a statement. "Circumstances are still unclear. I strongly condemn this act."
The Israeli military said its troops were fighting gunmen from Hamas, which runs Gaza, in the area and that it was investigating the incident. A spokesman for the U.N. relief agency said it had tried in vain to arrange an evacuation of civilians from the school with the Israeli army, and noted reports of Hamas rockets falling in the area at the same time.
Pools of blood lay on the ground and on students' desks in the courtyard of the school near the apparent impact mark of the shell, according to a Reuters photographer at the scene.
Laila Al-Shinbari, a woman who was at the school when it was shelled, told Reuters that families had gathered in the courtyard expecting to be evacuated shortly in a Red Cross convoy.
"All of us sat in one place when suddenly four shells landed on our heads ... Bodies were on the ground, (there was) blood and screams. My son is dead and all my relatives are wounded including my other kids," she wept.
An Israeli military source however told Al Jazeera that Palestinian rocket fire had been detected in the area and that the rocket fire might have fallen short and hit the shelter.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Chris Gunness, the spokesman for UNRWA, the UN's humanitarian organisation in Gaza, said his organisation had been in contact with Israeli forces as fighting closed in on the shelter.
"We gave the Israelis the precise GPS coordinates of the Beit Hanoun shelter. We were trying to coordinate a window [for evacuation] and that was never granted."
Robert Turner, the director for UNRWA told Al Jazeera there was no warning from the Israelis before the shells landed.
"This is a designated emergency shelter. The location was conveyed to the Israelis," he said. "This was an installation we were managing, that was monitored [to ensure] that our neutrality was maintained. We always call on all parties to ensure that civilians are not harmed."
Israel has attacked UN schools before, saying that they were being used as safe havens for the armed Palestinians. The UN has also previously criticised the Palestinian groups for using UN schools to hide fighters and weapons.
Sources:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast...90287.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24...16956.html
-----------------------------------------
Even if Hamas was in the area and luring, this shelter should not have been targeted, IMO. If it's proven that Israeli forces are responsible, it only hurts Israel's credibility and helps Hamas propagate its claims/cause. The civilians and the UN workers are real victims in this attack, regardless of anything else.
The UN announced two days ago that Israel was committing possible war crimes. If Israeli forces took out this shelter/school, for any reason, I think it was a very bad strategic move; difficult to justify.