Thursday 25 August 2016 - 12:28
Israel closes file on deadly 2014 attack on UN-run school in Gaza

The Israeli military says it has closed a file on its shelling of a United Nations school in the southern Gaza town of Rafah during Tel Aviv's 50-day war on the besieged territory in 2014.

Hawzah News Agency- The shelling of the school which sheltered more than 3,000 displaced Palestinians triggered international outcry and drew criticism from Israel's own allies including the US and France.

After conducting an investigation, the Israeli military issued a 21-page report, saying it was closing the file on the incident as well as on several other cases of military misconduct during the invasion.

The report said no wrongdoing was found in the attack in which 10 women and children were killed as well as in other cases.

Shells landed at the yard where children and adults were clustered around the gates, buying biscuits and sweets from stalls set up by locals at the time of the strike.

The missile struck the ground eight to 10 meters from the open gates. Witnesses at the scene said it had been fired from one of the many unmanned Israeli drones in the air above Rafah.

The report went on to say that the targeting process complied with domestic Israeli law as the three Palestinian men were not civilians.

The Israeli military further said other cases are still being investigated, without providing more details.

The fatal attack on the UN school drew condemnations from the UN and several rights group at the time.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on those responsible for the “gross violation of international humanitarian law” to be held accountable. He said the “Israeli army had been repeatedly informed of the location of such sites.”

Israel launched its latest war on the Gaza Strip in early July 2014.

The 50-day military aggression, which ended on August 26, 2014, killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children. Over 11,100 others — including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people — were also wounded in the war.

Israel continues to carry out attacks on the Palestinian enclave from time to time.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

 

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