UN chief to set up inquiry into Gaza attacks

PanARMENIAN.Net - The UN secretary general has said he is setting up an inquiry into attacks on UN facilities during Israel's recent offensive in the Gaza Strip, BBC News reports.

Ban Ki-moon said the independent investigation would look into most serious cases where innocent people were killed. He said it would also analyze the reported use of UN sites by Hamas militants to store weapons.

The 50-day conflict left about 2,100 Palestinians and 73 Israelis dead.

The UN says that most of the Palestinian dead were civilians. Israel says the high civilian death toll was because of Hamas fighters launching attacks from residential areas, including schools and mosques, drawing return fire.

Israel launched the offensive in Gaza on July 8, with the stated aim of stopping militants firing rockets and mortars at its territory. Following several short-lived ceasefires, both sides agreed to an open-ended truce on Aug 26 which has so far held.

Ban was speaking at a UN Security Council on Tuesday, Oct 21 after his visit to Gaza, including the Jabalia refugee camp, where civilians had sought protection during the conflict.

"I look forward to a thorough investigation by the Israel Defense Forces of this and other incidents in which UN facilities sustained hits and many innocent people were killed," he said. "I am planning to move forward with an independent board of inquiry to look into the most serious of those cases, as well as instances in which weaponry was found on UN premises."

In one incident, Israeli shelling reportedly killed more than a dozen people sheltering inside a UN-run school in Gaza.

Ban also said "the clock is ticking" for humanitarian relief to rebuild the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave as winter approached. He did not provide any further details about the investigation.

Last month, Israel ordered its own criminal investigation into five incidents in which civilians were believed to have died, and is investigating over 100 incidents in total.