Poor UN-IDF Communication Cited in Gaza War

TEL AVIV — Poor communication between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and UN representatives resulted in damage and civilian casualties during last year's Gaza conflict, according to a UN Commission of Inquiry report released on Monday.

A summary of the report, released by the UN Security Council with a letter from Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, investigated the causes of damage done to UN facilities during last summer's Operation Protective Edge.

"I deplore the fact that at least 44 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli actions and at least 227 injured at the United Nations premises being used as emergency shelters. United Nations premises are inviolable and should be places of safety, particularly in a situation of armed conflict," Ban said.

As for Hamas, Ban condemned the act of using UN facilities to store and/or fire weapons, saying it flies in the face of the primary purpose behind those buildings: being a safe and neutral refuge for civilians under fire.

"I am dismayed that Palestinian militant groups would put United Nations schools at risk by using them to hide their arms," he added.

The report summarized the circumstances regarding damages and casualties to UN property, established the identity of all those injured and deceased, and determined the cause behind each incident and which party was responsible.

One of the deadliest incidents on UN premises took place at the UNWRA Beit Hanoun Elementary Co-educational "A" and "D" school on July 24. Gazans flocked to the school as an "emergency shelter" where shelling around the school occurred on a daily basis. However, tensions subsided the morning of the incident, reducing its 2,000-4,000 evacuees to some 450.

The IDF and Israel's Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) rejected UNWRA's calls to refrain from striking the area so all civilians could safely evacuate. The IDF claimed a strike was necessary because it was "sitting on a Hamas arsenal."

The IDF stated that the school itself was not targeted and that it had grounds to suspect "'that the incident involved a deviation from IDF regulations'" and a criminal investigation has been ordered.

As such, the UN blamed much of the security deficiencies on communication and coordination between the IDF and the international bodies operating in Gaza.

In response to the 23-page summary, Israel's Foreign Ministry said, "Israel makes every effort to avoid harm to sensitive sites, in the face of terrorist groups who are committed not only to targeting Israeli civilians, but also using Palestinian civilians and UN facilities as shields for their terrorist activities."

The report was very limited in its scope, and only focused on the circumstances surrounding the damage of those specific UN facilities.

This is the second time Ban commissioned a Board of Inquiry regarding the Gaza conflict, with the first report covering 2009's Operation Cast Lead.

While Israel has cooperated with this report, it has refused to take part in the United Nations Human Right's Council investigation, which is expected to condemn Israel for human rights violations during the conflict.

That report has yet to be published.

Twitter: @OpallRome

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