The IDF Spokesperson's Office said on Thursday night that an initial investigation into the shelling of a UN-run school in Gaza – which left at least fifteen dead, and dozens wounded – found that terrorists had opened fire from the vicinity of the school, and that the army returned fire.
At the same time, Hamas fired in the general direction of the school, the army said. Civilians in the school were asked to vacate the area, but refused, the army added.
Earlier, a spokeswoman for US Secretary of State John Kerry said the incident underscored the need for a ceasefire and resolution of the conflict.
The attack "underscores the need to end the violence and to achieve a sustainable ceasefire and enduring resolution of the crisis in Gaza as soon as possible," said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for Secretary Kerry. "We again urge all parties to redouble their efforts to protect civilians."
A senior US official added that Secretary Kerry would not stay in the region indefinitely and would decide, in the near future, if Hamas and Israel were willing to agree on a ceasefire. "Gaps remain between the parties, so [Secretary Kerry's] focus is on finding a formula that both sides can accept," said the US official in an emailed comment.
At the same time, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon strongly condemned the attack on the facility, saying, "All sides must abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law to respect the sanctity of human life, the inviolability of UN premises, and to honor their obligations to humanitarian workers.”
“Today’s attack underscores the imperative for the killing to stop, and to stop now,” the UN chief's official statement read.
The Secretary General’s spokesperson emphasized that the United Nations is still unsure which side committed the attack, but did confirm that UN workers were killed.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said it was still looking into the matter; while IDF sources said the building may have been hit by an errant Gaza rocket and that that possibility was being examined.
"Such a massacre requires more than one hospital to deal with it," said Ayman Hamdan, director of the Beit Hanoun hospital. More than 140,000 Palestinians have fled 17 days of fighting during Israel's Operation Protective Edge, many of them seeking refuge in buildings run by the UN UNWRA agency.
Chris Gunness, spokesman for the main UN agency in Gaza UNRWA, confirmed the strike and criticized Israel.
"Precise co-ordinates of the UNRWA shelter in Beit Hanoun had been formally given to the Israeli army ... Over the course of the day UNRWA tried to coordinate with the Israeli Army a window for civilians to leave and it was never granted," Gunness said on his Twitter page.
The Palestinian death toll rose on Thursday to 729, most of whom were civilians, Gazan authorities said Thursday.
UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) has admitted to finding Hamas rockets in their facilities on two different occasions since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge 16 days ago. It said it handed them over to local authorities “answerable to the national unity government.”
In a meeting with UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman decried that not only were rockets found in UNRWA schools in Gaza, but also that UNRWA then turned them over to Hamas, rather than to Israel.
Liberman said Israel was very “troubled” by these developments.