By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
JABALIYA, Gaza – On January 6, the UN reported that several Israeli artillery shells landed outside a UN school in the Jabaliya refugee camp. John Ging, the Director of Operations in Gaza for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said the death toll was 30, including several children, with another 55 people injured. Medical officials at the scene of the incident report that over 40 were killed.
In a statement, an Israeli military spokesperson said that two of the dead were well known Hamas gunmen, Imad and Hassan Abu Askar. The Israeli military said that, according to initial checks, its soldiers had come under mortar fire from militants inside the al-Fakhura school.
“The force responded with mortars at the source of fire,” the Israeli military said in its statement. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev accused Hamas as using civilians as human shields and added that Hamas was in violation of international humanitarian law.
“Unfortunately tonight’s incident is just another example of how Hamas operates,” said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. “This is not the first time they have exploited a UN facility. This is not the first time that they have deliberately used innocent civilians as human shields.” Israeli media also reports that the limited cabinet is considering whether to file a complaint with the United Nations over the use of UNWRA schools made by Hamas.
Fauzi Barhoun, a Hamas spokesman called the allegations that fighters had used the school to attack Israeli forces “baseless.” He added, “There was no fire of any kind from the school.”
Ging told reporters that the school had been sheltering 350 refugees. When Ging was asked whether Hamas militants were in the area of the school at the time of the strike, he said that there were some clashes in the area, so there was “intense military and militant activity.” Ging added that the UN staff vetted Palestinians seeking shelter at their facilities to make sure militants were not taking advantage of them and so far there have not been any “violations by militants of our facilities.”
The incident at the al-Fakhura school is among the several bombardments of UN buildings since the ground operations began. The first incident was an airstrike on the Asma Elementary School in Gaza City and killed three men who were among more than 400 people taking refuge in the building. Another artillery shell landed inside an empty boys school in Jabaliya.
In addition, ten people were also injured at a UN health center in the Bureij refugee camp; seven were staff and three were patients. Ging called for an independent investigation into this and the other incidents.
According to the UN, nearly 15,000 refugees are being sheltered in 23 UN operated schools in Gaza.
For more information, please see:
Associated Press – Israel Shells Near UN School, Killing At Least 30 – 6 January 2009
BBC – Strike at Gaza School “Kills 30” – 6 January 2009
Belfast Telegraph – Fury as Israeli School Attack Kills More Than 30 – 6 January 2009
International Herald Tribune – Israeli Mortars Kill 40 Palestinian Refugees – 6 January 2009
International Herald Tribune – UN Chief Deplores Gaza Shelling Near UN Facilities – 6 January 2009
New York Times – Israeli Shells Kill 40 at Gaza UN School – 6 January 2009
Reuters – UN Official Says Gaza School was Clearly Marked – 6 January 2009
SwissInfo – Israeli Shells Kill 42 at UN School – 6 January 2009
Times – Gaza School Strike Forces Barack Obama to Break His Silence – 6 January 2009
Yedioth – Israel May File Complaint over Hamas’ Use of Schools – 6 January 2009
