#Gaza crisis: a closer look at Israeli strikes on #UNRWA schools | World | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/08/-sp-gaza-israeli-strikes-unrwa-schools?CMP=twt_gu
Maghazi Prep School A & B
Date: 21 July 2014
Dead: 0 reported casualties
Wounded: 1 child
Sheltering: Approximately 1,000 internally displaced people prior to the first attack
What happened: At approximately 4.55pm, the school was struck by explosive ordnance “believed to have been fired by Israeli forces.” – UNRWA statement
Comment: “UNRWA condemns in the strongest possible terms the shelling of one of its schools in the central area of Gaza.” – UNRWA statement
IDF comment: “We are carefully reviewing all of these incidents.”
Maghazi Prep School A & B
Date: 22 July 2014
Dead: 0
Wounded: 0
Sheltering: Approximately 1,000 internally displaced people prior to the first attack
What happened: At about 10.30am, as UNRWA officials at the school investigated the 21 July incident, “there was further shelling of the school, seriously endangering the lives of UN humanitarian workers and displaced civilians.” – UNRWA statement
Comment: “This is a serious violation of United Nations’ premises that could have had far-reaching human consequences.” – Pierre Krähenbühl, commissioner-general of UNRWA
IDF comment: “We are carefully reviewing all of these incidents.”
Deir al-Balah Preparatory Girls School C
Date: 23 July 2014
Dead: 0
Wounded: 5
Sheltering: Approximately 1,500 internally displaced people
What happened: the school was reportedly struck at 7.45am
Comment: “This is the second time in three days that an UNRWA school has taken a direct hit from Israeli shelling and we again condemn this in the strongest possible terms.” – UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness
IDF comment: “We are carefully reviewing all of these incidents.”
Beit Hanoun Elementary Co-ed School A & D
Date: 24 July 2014
Dead: 15*
Wounded: 200, mostly women and children
Sheltering: Approximately 1,500 internally displaced people
What happened: According to survivors, at about 2.50pm, as the playground was crowded with families waiting to be ferried to safety, one shell landed in the schoolyard, followed by several more rounds that hit the upper storeys of the building.
Comment: “Today’s attack underscores the imperative for the killing to stop and to stop now.” – UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon
IDF comment: The Israeli military first claimed, in a text sent to journalists, that the school could have been hit by Hamas missiles that fell short, reported the Guardian’s Peter Beaumont.
IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner later said in an email to the Guardian: “In the matter of the Beit Hanoun school, the IDF encountered heavy fire in vicinity of the school, including anti-tank missile. We later determined that an errant mortar did indeed land in the empty courtyard of the school, backing this up with video evidence.”
Additional: The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont reported from the scene: “There was no visible evidence of debris from broken Palestinian rockets in the school. The injuries and the number of fatalities were consistent with a powerful explosion that sent shrapnel tearing through the air, in some cases causing traumatic amputations. The surrounding neighbourhood bore evidence of multiple Israeli attacks, including smoke from numerous artillery rounds and air strikes. One building was entirely engulfed by flames.”
We chose to use the number from the Guardian report, as the numbers of reported dead varied between 11 and 15.
Zaitoun Preparatory Girls School B
Date: 29 July 2014
Dead: 0
Wounded: 8
Sheltering: Approximately 2,200 internally displaced people
What happened: the school was reportedly struck
IDF comment: “We are carefully reviewing all of these incidents.”
Jabaliya Elementary Girls School A & B
Date: 30 July 2014
Dead: 21**
Wounded: more than 100, including women and children
Sheltering: Approximately 3,200 internally displaced people
What happened: School in Jabaliya refugee camp was hit by five shells during a night of relentless bombardment across Gaza.
Comment:
“Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children. I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms.” – UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon
“The shelling of a UN facility, that is housing innocent civilians who are fleeing violence, is totally unacceptable and totally indefensible.” – White House spokesman Josh Earnest
“The world stands disgraced” – Pierre Krähenbühl, commissioner-general of UNRWA
IDF Comment: “Regarding the UNRWA facility in Jabaliya, we have determined that an exchange of fire, including mortar fire, did indeed take place in the vicinity of the school.”
Additional:
“All available evidence points to Israeli artillery as the cause – Ban Ki-moon
Damage “likely to have come from heavy artillery not designed for precision use … [the IDF] provided no evidence of [militant] activity and no explanation for the strike beyond saying that Palestinian militants were firing about 200 yards away.” – New York Times investigation.
This New York Times investigation published several days after the strike occurred found the number of dead to be greater than that previously reported. We elected to use this number.
Rafah Boys Preparatory School A
Date: 3 August 2014
Dead: 11, “five were children between 3 and 15 years old”
Wounded: 27
Sheltering almost 3,000 internally displaced people
What happened: A projectile struck the ground 8-10 metres from open school gates at about 10.50am. Witnesses at the scene less than an hour after the explosion claimed it had been fired from one of the many unmanned Israeli drones. UN officials in Gaza described a “shelling incident” or an air strike.
Comment:
“The attack is yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law, which clearly requires protection by both parties of Palestinian civilians, UN staff and UN premises, among other civilian facilities. United Nations shelters must be safe zones not combat zones. The Israel Defence Forces have been repeatedly informed of the location of these sites. This attack, along with other breaches of international law, must be swiftly investigated and those responsible held accountable. It is a moral outrage and a criminal act.” – UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon
IDF comment: “In the Rafah School incident, the IDF targeted three Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants on a motorbike outside of the school. The targeted strike did indeed neutralise the militants on the targeted motorbike.”