Gaza school hit: Was it an Israeli shell?

STAFF REPORTER

There has been uproar and worldwide condemnation over a rocket which landed on a school of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, killing 15 children. The school has been used by hundreds of Gazans as a shelter during the Gaza conflict.

The shell crashed down in the middle of a courtyard in which people had set up tents.

The headlines blared out that “an Israeli” shell had created the carnage. But the Public Diplomacy Department of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is conducting an investigation as to whether it had in fact been “an Israeli” shell – or a rocket fired by Hamas.

A media release sent out under the name of Public Diplomacy Deputy Director Galit Peleg on Thursday July 24, says the Israeli Defence Forces “is examining the possibility that the UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun was hit by a rocket fired by Hamas in the area. UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness said that in the course of the day Hamas shot rockets that landed inside Beit Hanoun”.

Peleg said that according to information received by Israel, many of the residents in the area could not heed the call – pamphlets distributed by Israel to leave the area – because Hamas had prevented them from doing so.

Peleg says that according to preliminary reports, fighting was conducted in this area and a Hamas anti-tank cell was operating in the area of the school. “For the past several days, and also last night (Wednesday night), the IDF dropped leaflets warning the residents of the area to leave.

“They also advised UNRWA and the Red Cross to evacuate the two UNRWA schools in the area. This was due to the fact that Hamas terrorist shooting was coming from this area.

“Today (Thursday), between 10:00 and 14:00, a humanitarian corridor was established to give an additional opportunity for residents to evacuate the area. Reports reaching Israel indicate that several dozen people took advantage of the opportunity to leave, but most of the residents stayed in the area.

“Hamas exploits UNRWA buildings in the Gaza Strip. In the last few days alone, stores of Hamas rockets, intended to be used against Israel, were discovered in two UNRWA schools. UNRWA officially admitted that rockets were found in the schools, and the UN Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) condemned this, stating that it turns the schools into military targets, thus endangering the people staying there.

“Hamas continues to commit war crimes when it conducts fighting from within a civilian environment, from hospitals, ambulances, schools and mosques, and when it targets Israeli civilians. In contrast, the IDF does everything in its power to avoid harming civilians and regrets every civilian casualty,” the statement said in conclusion..